i<:<r -c^C^ttr^S 



.^^sz^Uer ^tEiifsC.- 









r:'^«r' 









^' crrjcsrc- 









.^r ,i«Ci^V«s- 



^sajC^ 






^i^^iSc-SS:^ 






S '«:<iHE:ri«c;: '; 



:^ <^ '«^*::«ri re ■«? 
g-<'<:<ir' <<: -<CC' 












"UlBRAUY OF CONGRESS. # 
# — ^ ^ — # 

f |hnpXiS..^.i^apngM |o \ 

\ ■ ^^.#.1V1..3..1 :.. % 

I ■ ____^_ ^ -.# 

't UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. ^ 



L - 


< 


s;^« 






' 4 




c<: 




^'cc:; 




<r'< 


■« 


^__(_f<;A <crd^ 


C3-'C— ^ 














-.'- >-< 




•W^ e^^r^ 


^OsC 


c<:r -^ 


^--^_^ ^-L- 


:i?c<fC <7<S'^<« 


3r*^< 


C>.-:( 


c 






C:!-' 


;., c 


c:<>K^ 


c:« 


^.'.C C<L. < 




<;?t 


«..C C<gL^ 


•crjif-ar 












*^<«ii::^ 



i' ■'<<-<:'<?£: <xrc^ c«c <:<r ^ 
r cr<: c<^.3 



c ^'^. .: o"-: 


■CZo- 


^ ••■ ' C. G 


<r</ 


-.-' ' ' cr 


<- <! 


■^tsT'CCTV 


r: . «^c 


cr^c/c <r 


C" ■<"? 


C'-CiTtf^ .^ 










^ <<2- 


H <rc: 


-•^<iic 


^<^ 


c:< .«(;-< 


■C" <'^ 


<7'-<>l 


cr<3r 


<r <: « 


«:il<:£ 


<r <: 4 


■cz cs- 


<^ c « 




<r *- 


II-— — 



<3?^ '.^ ««c<8ag5 '^<^ <^^ < 



-«c«^ 



Cliche: 



;<:<:" "tiv c^lifO: 



c.mC3l^<^ 






fe:::. ■•iSc' ' 















,-/:.<-'-sr<c:ii '«. «!_ <s<;x_':<: <r^-««t:5- C«C«-^f' 
























^m^M 















::c:<r crcc 



'im. c <:3. 



1^ < 



^m^^^ 












^r-^«^3s:^<^ 
























-_'"^3S.>* C^ V 



CCS" ■ '•C7'«ei3c::cc<:, <:*«: «-^ 



Lj«C^<3jt<<<r <^'- «3L- :-:--■ 


CZ«id_<iCZCi 


^ .(.*-- <2'-'3C_„_. 


*r~*i(cr<tcz< 




sc^ic:^ 


^<aC<:^'^. < 


*Cf<CI3KZI<; 


K>j^^r'<z:':«::: -^ 


<3?«i5i«n3 


2-t««ic: -id" «:: ^ 


c3Kr<iiCi<s 


^/■S^CZjCr 'C<r'' .:» 




s'j^Tc:- «:•<::: 


cgiGZ^'x 


f^rcl-<?:;-^<r^' 


gsiCj^:'^ 


^^C'C-^c:. 


^^9KI3!1^5P; 


■^ '■•''Wd~<C * ■ '^^SC^ 


rtL "S^^^Clf^ 


1- "^ «*_ '"^~ ..'ct- 


«iHKI_<SI 


'<3j^CC^«r'"c"" 


-**wdr_^c£i' 


cc-oc*s^_«5: ^ c:"' 












C^ ^(o 2-6 t>^"^ 



THE 



FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



A FULL AND GRAPHIC HISTORY 



OF THE 



GRMT WAR BETWil PRUSSIA AND FRAIE, 



TOCETHER WITH KUMEROUS 



THRILLmG AND INTERESimG ANECDOTES, SKETCHES OF THE LIVES OF THE 
CELEBRATED STATESMEN AND GENERALS ON BOTH SIDES. 



BY PROFESSOR THEO. VON MARCKES. 



THIS WOKK FULLY DIGESTS THE CAUSES LEADING TO THIS MOST REMARKABLE OF 
WARS, AND CONTAINS A THOROUGH VENTILATION OF EACH AND EVERY AC- 
TION BETWEEN THE RULERS OP BOTH POWERS, MINUTELY DESCRIBING 
EVERY BATTLE, AND IN FACT EVERY DETAIL FROM THE MEETING 
BETWEEN HIS MAJESTY, KING WILLIAM OF PRUSSIA, AND 
COUNT BENEDETTl, FRENCH AMBASSADOR AT EMS, TO THE 
SURRENDER OF NAPOLEON III, AND FINALLY 
THE ENDING OF THE WAR. 



PORTRAITS OP ALL THE GENERALS AND GREAT MEN, 

AND MANY OTHER FINE ILLUSTRATIONS. 




PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY BAEOLAT & 

610 ARCH STREET. 



CO., 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by 

BARCLAY & CO., 

In the OfEce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 






X) ^ 



S. A. GEOHGE & CO., 

STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS, 

PHILADELPHIA. 



THE LlBiv .; 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



The Franco-German War 



-Prussia and France have, for some years 
past, been apparently peacefully disposed 
towards each other. There are not so many 
causes leading to this war as Napoleon 
would have the world at large to believe. 
When the nomination of Prince Leopold, as 
King of Spain, was withdrawn, the Em- 
peror lost an available excuse for war ; but 
the clamor in France for war grew louder 
«.nd louder, and war was certain because 
" France wanted it." 

The outcry at first seemed to be confined 
to the ministerial organs of Paris ; but as 
these became peaceable in their tone, the 
more independent organs grew warlike, and 
Napoleon having, as he supposed, stimulated 
public opinion to back him, stood prepared 
to plunge into the contest. 

The Emperor of the French had no fur- 
ther excuse for war, unless, indeed, that 
Prussia had been biting her thumb at him ; 
but if the French people believe, with Oapu- 
let's servant, that biting of thumbs is a 
*' disgrace to them if they bear it," this, 
no doubt, proves to them a sufficient ex- 
cuse. 

"While Napoleon had been reaching this 
resolution, not only had his cause been grow- 
ing weaker, but his difficulties were increased, 
and he stood before the world in the atti- 
tude of a man who having first threatened 
war for an inadequate cause, finds even that 
cause taken from him, and then exclaims, 
"Never mind, I will fight, anyhow." His 
adversary, on the other hand, had conciliated 
respect by a firm and dignified bearing, a 
courage without bluster, a resolution without 
undue obstinacy. 

By this calm and collected attitude, 
Prussia had, moreover, gained material ad- 
vantages. She compelled France to ex- 
pose clearly her purpose of seizing the 
Khenish frontier, and thus stimulated the 
patriotism of the non-confederated German 
provinces, which coul.d not then hesitate to 
join the Confederation with all their avail- 
able force. She thus gained time to complete 
her preparations for the defence of the 
Rhine. This was an advantage of the very 
utmost importance. The whole frontier is a 
network of fortresses, upon which Prussia 
for years past has bsen lavishing money and 
exhausting the ingenuity of engmeers. The 



true policy of an invading force would have 
been to fall upon them suddenly, but the 
time for this has passed, " and the besieger 
found himself fcesz'egfed." 

Napoleon the First often remarked, "A 
military blunderer is worse than a traitor," 
and the Napoleon of to-day is not like the 
first Napoleon, because he lacks military ex- 
perience, because he lacks conciseness ; in 
fact, to sum it all up, " he's alike, and yet not 
alike." 

Napoleon maintained his threatening atti- 
tude toward Prussia, and persisted in his 
offensive demands, and all the efforts of that 
country at explanation were not accepted. 

Throughout the whole affair, the attitude 
of France was that of an enraged ruffian, 
bent upon insult. To be sure, the attitude 
of Prussia was calculating and somewhat ex- 
asperating, but she has decidedly the advan- 
tage thus far in the quarrel. 

The pretext which France has used to pro- 
duce a conflict upon which Napoleon has 
fixed his heart for a long time past is re- 
moved. We now see that France has dis- 
covered that, after all, it is the Rhine frontier 
which she wants, and for which she pro- 
poses to do battle. Prince Leopold with- 
drew from the nomination as King of Spain, 
("What's in a name?") because, as stated, 
he did not wish to involve Prussia in a 
bloody, and, perhaps, protracted war. Be- 
fore going farther we will give the exact his- 
tory of the 

MEETING BETWEEN THE KING OF PRUSSIA 
AND BENEDETTI, FEENCH AMBASSADOR. 

We make a simple record of facts from 
official documents : 

The first meeting took place at Eras, on 
the 9th of July, at the request of Count 
Benedetti. It was demanded by him that 
the King should require the Prince of Ho- 
henzoUern to withdraw his acceptance of the 
Spanish Crown. The King replied that, as 
in the whole affair, he had been addressed 
only as the head of the family, and never as 
the King of Prussia, and had accordingly 
given no command for the acceptance of the 
candidature, he could also give no command 
for withdrawal. On the 11th of July Count 
Benedetti reauested a second audience, which 
was granted. In this interview he was 

:3 



20 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



nrgent with the King to prevail upon Prince 
Leopold to renounce the crown. The King 
replied, that the Prince was perfectly free to 
decide for himself, and that, moreover, he 
did not even know where he was at that 
moment, as he was about to take a journey 
among the Alps. On the morning of July 
13, the King met Benedetti on the public 
promenade before the fountain, and gave 
him an extra sheet of The Cologne Gazette, 
which he had just received, with a private 
telegram from Sigmaringen, relating the 
withdrawal of the Prince, remarking at the 
same time that he himself had heard nothing 
from Sigmaringen, but should expect let- 
ters that day. Count Benedetti replied that 
he had already received the information 
the evening before from Paris, and as the 
King regarded the matter as thus settled, 
the Count wholly unexpectedly made a new 
demand, proposing to the King that he 
should expressly pledge himself never to 
give his consent in case the question of the 
candidature should at any subsequent time 
be revived. The King decidedly refused to 
comply with any such demand, and when 
Benedetti returned to his proposal with 
increasing importunity, stood by his answer. 
In spite of this, a few houra after, the Count 
requested a third audience. Upon being 
asked what subject was to be considered, he 
gave for answer that he wished to renew the 
discussion of the morning. The King de- 
clined another audience, as he had no answer 
but that already given, and, moreover, all 
negotiations must now take place through 
the Ministry. Benedetti requested permis- 
sion to take leave of the King, upon his 
departure from Ems, which was so far granted 
that the King bowed to him as the latter 
was leaving the railway station the next day 
for Coblenz. Each of the interviews of 
Benedetti with the King had the character 
of a private conversation. The Count did 
not once pretend to be acting in his official 
capacity. 

In the preceding statement, which is 
sanctioned by the King himself, no mention 
is made of the rudeness of Benedetti in forc- 
ing himself upon His Majesty while indulging 
in the recreation of a walk on the crowded 
promenade of Ems. It was generally re- 
garded, however, as a studied insult on the 
part of the French Minister, and was com- 
mented on with indignation by the German 
press. Such a violation of diplomatic cour- 
tesy could hardly have been accidental. 
Not even the excitement of a sudden sur- 
prise could excuse the incivility ; but there 
was no surprise in the case; the Count had 
received the news the night before, and had 
at least twelve ho\irs to meditate his course 
of action. The affair was witnessed with 
astonishment by the numerous spectators of 
the scene, who drew their own augury of its 
probable consequences. It was interpreted 
as a sign of hostility toward Prussia, and 
two days after came the declaration of war. 
In 'spite of the seriousness of the occasion, 



the procedure had a certain comic side, 
which is thus described by an eye-witness : 
" On Wednesday morning the King was 
taking his usual walk on the promenade, 
among the other visitors at Eras, in the 
company of two or three gentlemen. Hap- 
pening to turn my head, I saw that the King 
had been fastened upon by a short, fat figure, 
who was gesticulating and talking with the 
utmost animation. I asked the bystanders 
who was that little man in the light-brown 
summer dress, with his hair cut close to the 
head, but could get no satisfaction. His 
liveliness struck me as very strange, it formed 
such a contrast to the quiet manners of the 
King,. and I could not help following his 
movements with my eye. The conversation 
did not continue much longer; the King 
spoke a few words mildly to the little Italian, 
as I took him to be, made a parting motion 
with his hand and his hat, and pursued his 
way to the house where he lodged. The 
little man snatched off his hat in a hurry, 
turned on his heel, and feeling in his breast- 
pocket, drew out a paper which he gave to 
one of the gentlemen that accompanied the 
King. And this little pepper-pot, as I after- 
ward learned, was not an Italian, but a Corsi- 
can, and his name was Benedetti." 

The final communication with the French 
Ambassador was through Prince Radziwill, 
an adjutant in the personal suit of the King, 
who has since given a detailed account of the 
interview. " In consequence of a conversation 
with Count Benedetti on the promenade, on 
the morning of July 13," says he, " I was 
commanded by the King, about two o'clock 
in the afternoon, to take the following mes- 
sage to the Count: 'His Majesty has received 
within an hour, a written communication 
from Prince Hohenzollern, fully confirming 
the intelligence in regard to the withdrawal 
of Prince Leopold from the Spanish candida- 
ture, which the Count had received directly 
from Paris. The King regarded this as a 
final settlement of the question.' After I 
had delivered this message to Count Bene- 
detti, he replied that since his conversation 
with the King, he had received a new dispatch 
from the Duke de Gramont, in which he was 
instructed to request an audience of the King, 
and lay before him once more the wishes of 
the French Government. 1. That he should 
approve the withdrawal of Prince Hohenzol- 
lern. 2. That he should give the assuranf»e 
that the same candidature should never be ^ 
again accepted in the future. Hereupon His 
Majesty commanded me to reply to the Count 
that he approved of the withdrawal of Prince 
Leopold in the same sense, and to the same 
extent, as he had previously approved of his 
acceptance. The written communication 
which he had received was from Prince Anton 
of Hohenzollern (father of Leopold), who 
had been authorized thereto by prince Leo- 
pold himself. In respect to the second point, 
assurance for the future. His Majesty could 
only refer to what he had said to the Count 
in the morning. Count Benedetti received 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



21 



this reply of the King with thanks, and said 
that he would announce it to his Government, 
as he was authorized to do. In regard to 
the second point, however," he was obliged, 
by the express instructions in the last dis- 
patch of the Duke de Gramont, to request 
another conversation with the King, if it 
were only to hear a repetition of the same 
words, especially as new arguments were 
contained in the last dispatch, which he 
would like to present to His Majesty. Upon 
this, at about half past five o'clock, after 
dinner, the King ordered me to reply for the 
third time to Count Benedetti, that he must 
decidedly decline any further discussion of 
the last point, relating to a guarantee for the 
future. What he had said in the morning 
was his final word on that subject, and he 
could only refer to that. Upon being assured 
that the arrival of Count Bismarck in Ems 
the next day was not certain, Count Bene- 
detti remarked that for his part he would 
content himself with the declaration of the 
King." 

The actual demands of the French Gov- 
ernment upon the King are contained in a 
subsequent dispatch from Baron Werther, 
the Prussian Minister at Paris-. In a con- 
versation with the Duke de Gramont, the 
latter remarked that he regarded the with- 
drawal of Prince Leopold as a matter of 
secondary importance, but he feared that the 
course of Prussia in regard to it would oc- 
casion a permanent misunderstanding be- 
tween the two countries. It was necessary 
to guard against this by destroying the germ. 
The conduct of Prussia toward France had 
been unfriendly. This was admitted, to his 
certain knowledge, by all the great powers. 
To speak frankly, he did not wish for war, 
but would rather preserve amicable relations 
with Prussia. He hoped that Prussia had 
similar dispositions. He was satisfied with 
the intentions of the Prussian Minister, and 
they could, accordinglj'-, freely discuss the 
conditions of reconciliation. He would sug- 
gest the writing of a letter to the Emperor 
by the King, disavowing all purpose of in- 
fringing upon the interests or the dignity of 
France in his authorizing the acceptance of 
the Spanish crown by Prince Leopold, The 
King should confirm the withdrawal of the 
Prince, and express the hope that all ground 
of complaint between the two Governments 
would thus be removed. Nothing should 
be said in the letter concerning the family 
relations between Prince Leopold and the 
Emperor. 

The refusal of the King to accept the 
humiliating conditions proposed by the 
French Government called forth the live- 
liest approval and sympathy in all parts 
of Germany. It awakened a deep feeling 
of affection for his person, confidence in his 
judgment, and devotion to his interests. 
He is now identified not only with the rights 
of Prussia, but with the cause of German 
unity, and the defence of German honor. 
. The day after his final and eventful inter- 



view with Benedetti, the King left Ems at an 
early hour in the morning in a special train 
for Berlin. He took leave of the crowd 
which had assembled to witness his departure 
with evident emotion. " I hope to see you 
all once more," said he. " God is my witness 
that I have not desired war ; but if I am 
forced into it, I will maintain the honor of 
Ggnnany to the last man." 
/His journey was like a triumphal progress. 
'Fhe heartfelt greetings with which he was 
received by the people on the way indicate 
the sentiment of the whole population. 
Ne*er, in the history of the world, did a 
sovereign enjoy such enthusiastic approval 
from his subjects for an official acti The 
feeling is spontaneous and universal. HJpon 
his arrival at Coblenz, he was received by a 
military corps, called the " War Union," 
with music and banners. He could only 
say: "My comrades, I rejoice greatly in 
the surprise which you have prepared for 
me." 

At Cassel, the capital of the new Prussian 
province of Hesse, he was welcomed by the 
authorities of the city, and a large concourse 
of people. In a brief speech he expressed 
his satisfaction at finding such patriotic 
sentiments in the new capital, and continued 
his journey amid shouts of congratulations. 
He arrived in Berlin, or rather at the Pots- 
dam station, about nine o'clock in the even- 
ing. The streets were alive with throngs of 
people who had come to bid him welcome 
home. Every spot in the vicinity was full. 
Prussian banners and German flags waved 
from all the windows. Many of the houses 
were illuminated. The carriages were not 
allowed to pass in the street, but were drawn 
up, full of people, in long lines on each side. 
The waiting-room of the King at the station 
was covered with banners, and filled with gar- 
lands and wreaths of fresh flowers. Among 
the crowd were many military officers of the 
highest rank, the civil authorities of the city, 
the most eminent merchants and bankers, 
and a host of ladies in full dress. The great 
mass of the population of Berlin appeared to 
be present, and the streets were so completely 
blocked up that it was almost impossible to 
pass. At three o'clock the Crown Prince, 
Count Bismarck, the Minister of War, Gen. 
Roon and Gen. Moltke, had gone to meet the 
King at Brandenburg. It was there that the 
King first heard of the declaration of war, and 
immediately gave orders for mobilizing the 
army. The train was signaled at a quarter 
before nine, and entered the station amid 
shouts of welcome. As the King left the 
carriage he gave his hand to Field Marshal 
Wrangel, who imprinted upon it a reverent 
kiss. He was deeply moved by his reception. 
Advancing slowly along the platform, he 
reached his hand to the right and left, bowing 
to the multitude as he passed, and receiving 
the bouquets which were showered upon him 
by the ladies. 

He was now greeted by the representa- 
tive of the City Government, who pledged 



22 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



himself for the devotion and self-sacrifice of 
the people. The King replied in a few 
words of good cheer. After a short time, 
the King got into a carriage, with the Crown 
Prince, and drove from the station amid 
thnnders of applause. The whole way to the 
palace was one act of homage. There was 
not a word nor a look of anxiety among that 
innumerable host. Not a breath betrayed a 
feeling of doubt. Every soul was inspired 
with trust in God and a good cause.) All 
was confidence and congratulation, if not 
joy. As the carriage approached the pal- 
ace, the pressure became so great that even 
the stone pillars in the public square broke 
as if they had been made of wood. The 
ceaseless hurras roared like a hurricane 
around the place. The King alighted on 
the steps, and with deep emotion repeatedly 
expressed his thanks. He could scarcely be 
heard for the acclamations, but those who 
stood nearest to him caught the words : 
" With such inspiration of my people, our 
victory is secure ; we may look forward to 
the future without fear." The King then en- 
tered the palace, but the crowd remained. All 
at once, the national hymn began to ascend 
from ten thousand voices. The people stood 
with uncovered heads. A small proportion 
only were able ta sing ; the others wept from 
excitement ; and even those who took part 
in the hymn could do so only with trembling 
voice and tearful eye. It was a moment of 
sublime transfiguration. A little before 11 
o'clock, Gen. Moltke made his appearance in 
the square. He was received with a storm 
of welcome, and the people could hardly be 
restrained from taking him on their shoul- 
ders, and bearing him into the palace. At 
length, about half an hour before midnight, 
the multitude were informed that the King 
had still many heavy tasks to attend to, and 
begged them to retire. " Home ! Home !" 
was at once, the universal cry, and in a 
few minutes the vast throng had disap- 
peared, and left not a soul in the spacious 
square. 

In other parts of the town, the excitement 
continued till nearly morning. An address 
to the King was hastily extemporized, taken 
to the nearest printing office, and soon dis- 
tributed among the people. It was some- 
what to this effect : " In this time of danger, 
when the honor of Prussia, of Germany, is 
boldly outraged by French audacity, when 
security and peace are causelessly and crimi- 
nally threatened, your people are impelled 
to express their unshakable fidelity, and 
their universal enthusiasm for the fight. As 
in 1813-15, around yoiir Majesty's noble 
father, every Prussian, with blood and treas- 
ure, will now stand around your glorious 
leaders in the war. Only one thing have 
your faithful people to supplicate of your 
Majesty, never to rest until this French ar- 
rogance shall be humbled for all time, and 
Germany restored to its ancient greatness. 
Only one word have we to speak : With God 
for King and Fatherland ! Hurrah ! Hurrah \" 



The signatures to this address soon amounted 
to many thousands. 

It was reported, and by many believed,, 
that the French "army woitld at once make a 
" promenade " through the south of Ger 
many. The delay gave an unexpected time 
for preparation to the German forces. There 
have been many strangers here from Amer- 
ica and England, who have been tempted by 
the beauty of the environs, the healthfulness 
of the climate, and the advantages for educa- 
tion, to select Stuttgart as a place of tempo- 
rary residence. But they are now more 
desirous to go away than they have ever 
been to come. Prices have gone up with a 
bound, and business is at a stand-still. Credit 
is greatly disturbed, and travellers find it 
difiicult to obtain cash for their drafts on th& 
greatest Parisian bankers. There is na 
telegraph to France or Switzerland, no 
trains to the north or west, and letters to 
America go only by way of England. Evea 
the mails are suspended from Frankfort to 
France. The people here take the situation 
quietly. Families are ordered to be in readi- 
ness for the quartering of 16,500 troops, at 
the rate of six to ten to a family. Fine car- 
riage horses are taken out of their stables 
for the uses of the Government at a nominal 
price. But the spirit of the people is un- 
daunted, and will not easily quail, even be- 
fore the terrors of machine cannon and 
chassep8ts. 

We now come to the date made memorial 
by the 

UPSISING OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE. 
(From our own correspondent.) 

Stuttgart, July 25. — It is now evident 
that the war declared by Louis Napoleon 
against Prussia is to be fought with the en- 
tire German race. Munich, Stuttgart, and 
Baden are glowing with a patriotic ardor no 
less fervent than that which inspires the 
population of Berlin. The distinctions of 
party, as well as those of nationality, are 
lost in the prevailing enthusiasm. With few 
exceptions, the hostility to Prussia, which 
was called forth by the events of '66, has 
subsided, and the ancient German feeling has 
regained possession of every heart. Even 
the Democrats and Socialists, who are bitter 
enemies of the Prussian monarchy, and with 
whom Bismarck is the object of supreme ab- 
horrence, have laid aside their feuds, and are 
flocking to the common standard for the de- 
fence of the Fatherland. The coimtry now 
presents a glorious spectacle. There have 
been few such moments in history. p]ven 
the stranger in the land cannot withhold his 
sympathy and admiration from the spirit 
which pervades the people. 

The first announcement of the war was 
the signal for a universal burst of patriotic 
feeling. There was no hesitation, no shrink- 
ing, no distrust. Personal interests were at 
once postponed to the cause of the country. 
The war was accepted as an inevitable neces- 
sity, — a war not of conquest, not of ambi- 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



25 



tion, not of political intrigue — but a war for 
the protection of the fireside, and of the 
native soil. In Berlin, there was but one 
voice of devotion to the King, and assurance 
of victory. "Come what may," was the 
general cry, "we cannot be conquered by 
the French." "At first, it may go hard with 
\\s," said one of the aged merchants of the 
city, " we may lose a great battle, we have 
no pledge of the fortune of war, and the 
French are a powerful enemy ; but we must 
and shall be victorious ; even if the children 
from school, and old men like myself, are 
called to take part in the conflict." j^fhere 
was great excitement on the Bourse, but not 
a tongue was raised against the war. It was 
announced that 950,000 men were at the 
disposal of Prussia, of whom nearly 700,000 
were ready to take the field. The army of 
Saxony was at once put in motion ; Dresden 
and Leipsic joined hands with Berlin; and 
even from the newly annexed provinces of 
Prussia, not a discordant note was heard) It 
was said in Darmstadt : " Let Germany fear- 
lessly take up the gage that has been thrown 
down, and follow the lead of Prussia into the 
fight ; for our cause is just, and Heaven will 
be on our side." In Hanover, the war with 
France was hailed with acclamation. In the 
places of public amusement, which were 
filled with people, the enthusiasm was so 
great as to put a stop to the performances. 
Nothing would do but patriotic songs. " Des 
Deutschen Vaterland," (the German Father- 
land) " Die "Wacht am Rhein," (the Watch 
on the Rhine) and even " Das Preussen- 
lied," (the Prussian Song) were repeatedly 
called for and loudly echoed by the crowded 
audiences. 

The expressions of feeling in Southern 
Germany were equally prompt and decisive. 
The largest public meeting that was ever 
known in Stuttgart, was held on the Satur- 
day evening after the reception of the news. 
Every political party was represented, and 
all spoke with one voice in favor of the war. 
There was no question that Wurtemberg 
would join heart and hand in the common 
cause. The mobilizing of the army com- 
menced without delay, and numbers of the 
young men of the city came forward as vol- 
unteers. Here is no dodging of military 
duty, no creeping away under some plea of 
exemption ; everybody who is able is willing 
to serve ; and those who cannot, pour out 
their money like water. In Tubingen, that 
old University town, famed for the choice 
variety of theological opinion which it dis- 
penses to every taste, a great public gather- 
ing assembled on Sunday evening. The 
crowd was so immense that it was necessary 
to adjourn from a hall of the Museum to the 
spacious riding-school. It was urged upon 
the Government to take vigorous measures 
for the prosecution of the war, which was 
pronounced essential to the existence of the 
nation, and the security of every household. 
Every true German could now have but one 
motto : "Against France to the last man, 



and to the last breath." Tubingen will suf- 
fer from the war more than many large 
towns in Germany. The news came upon 
her like a bomb-shell. The University is her 
main dependence, and the students are now 
leaving almost in a body. Many of them are 
from North Germany, and must go at once. 
The subjects of military duty from Wiirtem- 
berg reported themselves at once, a part of 
them as ready to march. 

The German watering-places feel the eflTect 
of the sudden change severely. More than 
2,000 persons left Ems in a single day. There 
was such a rush at the railway station that 
the police were obliged to keep order with 
drawn swords. The French, who were leav- 
ing, tied white pocket-handkerchiefs to their 
canes and umbrellas. Baden-Baden, as well 
as the resorts of less note in the Black For- 
rest, are quite deserted. Most of the hotels 
are entirely empty, and waiters are sum- 
moned to exchange their white waistcoats 
for a military uniform. 

The personal narrative of a visitor at 
Creuznach, may give an idea of the experi- 
ence of many of the German Summer travel- 
lers : 

"On Thursday morning," says he, "when 
the renunciation of Prince Leopold appeared 
to have settled the question, certainly for the 
present, I started from Frankfort, and arriv- 
ing at Wiesbaden, found the watering-place 
life still in full bloom. The gardens were 
tilled with a throng of gay persons, players 
sat around the green table, there was music 
on the promenade, and the different places 
of interest in the vicinity were alive with 
elegant equipages. It was on the journey 
through the Rheingan, that I first heard of 
the prostration of our hopes for peace. In 
Creuznach, where I arrived on Friday, the 
1.5th, the effects were already to be seen. A 
great number of strangers had left in the 
morning, and during the day the stations 
from Mlinster to Creuznach were besieged 
with crowds of passengers. Even lame men 
on crutches and children were brought in all 
sorts of vehicles, to the train. Still the pub- 
lic garden presented its usual appearance in 
the evening. There was music in the bril- 
liantly-lighted pavilion ; a great concourse 
of people, mostly in rich toilets, filled the 
seats and walks, and gayly-dressed children 
were playing on the lawn. On Saturday 
morning we heard of the declaration of war 
from an extra of the Creuznach Gazette. 
An excursion at 10 o'clock, in the vicinity 
of the Rhine, brought us into the midst of 
military preparations. The trains were de- 
layed at every station. Everywhere our 
path was crossed by long rows of locomotives 
coupled together, and cars filled with troops 
and munitions of war. Every station was 
crowded as full as it could hold with people 
from the neighborhood, to hear the news. 
Upon our return to Creuznach, what a con- 
trast to last evening ! No music was heard 
in the pavilion — only the melancholy tones 
of a little bell on the neighboring church. 



26 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



The throng of fashionables that make up the 
society of a watering-place had dwindled to 
a very few persons. These sat together 
without speaking, each preoccupied with his 
own serious thoughts. The thriving town 
of hotels and boarding-houses, which, in a 
single generation, had taken the place of 
rude wooden hovels, had suddenly become 
desolate. The showy shops stood without 
a purchaser, the boatmen were thrown out 
of employment, although the walls were still 
covered with placards announcing regattas 
and fireworks, and illuminations. Servants 
were lounging Idly around, and the carriage- 
drivers had nothing to do but to take stran- 
gers to the railway. On Sunday morning 
the town of Creuznach was completely 
isolated by the suspension of all the trains, 
and at the same time, the horses from every 
part of the circle were mustered into the 
army. 

" In the North of Germany generally, the 
excitement was no less intense than in Ber- 
lin. The Chief Magistrate of Schleswig- 
Holstein, upon his accession to office, calls 
upon the people for their aid to the war : 
'My first official duty among you,' he says, 
* falls in a difficult, but still an exalting time. 
I had hoped to labor with you in the peaceful 
building up of our common country. But 
the Almighty has ordered it otherwise. A 
sudden and outrageous attack has been made 
upon the honor of our nation. The heredi- 
tary enemy of our Fatherland has declared 
war upon us without cause. Armed hosts 
already press upon our borders. The whole 
army, the whole people, is summoned to 
arms. Every one rushes to the banners with 
alacrity and joy. No man will hold back. 
Our natural allies, the South-German States, 
stand true to us. Let us, then, look forward 
to the great conflict with devotion and trust 
in God. We know that when a people de- 
fends its honor and its right against an 
insolent foe, when it cheerfully sacrifices its 
blood and its treasure to the holy cause of 
its country, then God the Lord will take 
them under His protection.' Schleswig- 
Holstein has hitherto been torn by parties. 
Now there is no feeling but that of perfect 
unity. The Central Committee of the 
Liberal party issues an address, breathing a 
spirit of the loftiest patriotism : 

" Men of Schleswig-Holstein ! The decision 
is made. France breaks over the German 
Rhine. Germany stands ready with every 
sacrifice to meet the foe. In long, hard 
fights, even when all had left us, have we 
defended every foot of the German soil. 
What duty and honor require stand written 
in every German breast. The children of 
our land will tight in the front ranks. On- 
ward, then, to the combat, for Germany 
united in freedom and might, and may God 
bless our righteous weapons." 

In the city of Bremen, there prevailed the 
highest degree of enthusiasm. As soon as 
France drew the sword, you heard expres- 
sions of confidence at the corner of every 



street. The young men hastened joyfully to 
the banners. Patriotic fathers telegraphed 
to their sons in America to come home. The 
wives bore the message of young exempts in 
that country, who would not use their privi- 
lege, when their Fatherland was attacked. 
Although trade in Bremen is at an end, 
navigation broken off, and millions of money 
at risk on the event, there is but one senti- 
ment of manly resistance to the enemy. All 
the buoys and signals at the mouth of the 
Weser have been sunk, or removed to pre- 
vent the entrance of the French iron-clads 
that have sailed from Cherbourg. It is 
supposed that they are driving for the har- 
bors of the North Sea, in order to make a 
descent upon Schleswig-Holstein. The news 
from Bavaria and Wiirtemberg, of the pre- 
parations for war, was received with high 
exultation in Bremen. 

The same feeling was manifested in Lubeck. 
On the Sunday, after war was declared, more 
than 20,000 people assembled in a large field 
before the gates of the city. An inspiriting 
address was made, responding to the feelings 
of every German heart, at the close of which 
every man in the vast multitude, with un- 
covered head, and hands raised to heaven, 
solemnly pledged himself to defend his 
country with his blood. Nearly a hundred 
young men from Frankfort and the vicinity, 
who had served out their regular time in the 
army, and had gone to England as clerks in 
mercantile houses, have returned as volun- 
teers, and have been mustered into the 
service. They received great sympathy 
from their acquaintances in England, as well 
as on their passage through Belgium, and 
their employers have promised to keep their 
places for them against their return. 

The Crown Prince of Prussia arrived at 
Stuttgart, July 28, about 8 o'clock, on his 
way to the frontier, to take command of the 
South German army. He was received with 
an enthusiastic welcome by the people. 
Every street in the vicinity of the station, 
where he alighted, was crowded. A long 
line stood on each side as he passed with his 
suite. They drove in several carriages to the 
royal palace, where he is to stop for a short 
time. This was a great day in Stuttgart. 
Large bodies of soldiers, in complete warlike 
equipmentjWere constantly marching through 
the town on their way to the frontier. They 
had the appearance of stout, hardy men, 
inured to labor and fatigue, and the alacrity 
of their movements was truly animating. 

Up to this time nothing of moment appears 
to have occurred. There had been several 
slight rencountres between the soldiers on each 
side, and alarms were sufficiently frequent to 
keep the Prussians on the alert. Under date 
of Tuesday, July 19, it was announced from 
Saarbrnck (one of the chief points on the 
Prussian frontier opposite Forbach, a small 
village in the French territory), that constant 
excitement prevailed. The approach of the 
French was expected every hour. The gar- 
rison was fully prepared to give them a warm 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



27 



reception. The day before, in the afternoon, 
a peasant brought the information that the 
French were seen on the heights of Forbach. 
A company immediately marched at double- 
quick toward the place. At the same time, 
a troop of uhlans pushed on from St. Johann 
on the Saar to the French lines. The 
remainder of the garrison took their stand 
opposite to the railway bridge. It was an 
exciting moment. All the shops were shut. 
The women and children took refuge in the 
cellars. Every instant it was expected that 
the battle would begin in the streets. But 
it turned out to be a false alarm. The troops 
returned about 5 o'clock without having seen 
an enemy. At 3 o'clock the next morning 
the general march was again beat. Officer 
after officer rode rapidly through the streets. 
Soon the uhlans were on the move, while the 
entrances to the principal streets were 
guarded by infantry. This time it was not a 
false alarm. 

FIRST SIGHT OF THE ENEMY. 

On a wooded height before the town the 
uhlans received several squadrons of French 
chasseurs. They went at them with loud 
hurrahs, but the chasseurs, after firing two 
or three shots, rode ofi" in a hurry within 
their own lines. The uhlans had no orders 
to pursue them, and returned to their quar- 
ters. The shot hit the horse of one of the 
officers on the hind leg, but no other damage 
was done. 

The first French blood spilled was on the 
next day, Wednesday, July 20, when one of 
the French patrols was shot by a corporal of 
the Prussian advance guard. The body of 
the soldier was left on the spot by the chas- 
seurs, as they fled, and was afterward buried 
near by. It was remarked, as a noticeable 
coincidence, that the shot was fired by a 
soldier of the so-called Hohenzollern regi- 
ment. On the afternoon of the same day, 
a chasseur was shot by a Prussian sergeant, 
and the whole number of killed on the French 
side amounts to eight, one of them a mounted 
infantry officer, who fell dead from his horse. 
The French are bad shots. They blaze away 
as soon as they see a soldier's cap, though 
there is only one. The ChassepQts carry to 
a long distance, but do not hit well. Only 
two Prussians have been bounded, and those 
slightly. The French are found in consider- 
able numbers in the woods on the left bank 
of the Saar. They kept cracking away with 
their guns, and the laborers in the vicinity 
are obliged to quit work. A ball occasionally 
strikes a train returning from Saar Louis. 
The French people on the lines are in a state 
of great depression, showing a strong contrast 
to the buoyant spirit that prevails everywhere 
in Germany. All the manufactories are 
shut up, and thousands of workmen are 
thrown out of employment. 

Since the above writing, I have received 
two days later reports. Early on Saturday 
morning (July 23), a battalion of French 
infantry attempted to get possession of the 
'bridge at Wehrden. The commandant of 



the fort at Saar Louis sent out a battalion 
of infantry and a squadron of uhlans, who 
soon drove them back. About 7 o'clock the 
French soldiers made a descent upon the 
railway bridge at Schaunenberge, but were 
repulsed after a brisk fire on both sides. 

Below we give the names and character 
of the iron-clads in the navies of Prussia and 
France : 



Broadside. 
Konig Wilhelm. 
Kron Prinz. 
Renown. 

Broadside. 
Magenta. 
Solferino. 
Gloire. 
Invincible. 
Normandie. 
Couronne. 
Provence. 
Heroine. 
Savoir. 
Revanche. 
Surveilliante. 
Flandre. 
Guyeuse. 
Gauloise. 
Valeureuse. 



Turret. 
Arminius. 
Prince Adalbert. 
And 2 building. ^ 

FRANCE. 

Broadside. 
Magnanime. 
Rochambeau. 
Devastation. 
Congreve. 
Lave. 

Foudroyante. 
Turret. 
Foudroyante. 
Taureau. 
Belliqueuse. 
Belier. 

Boule Dogue. 
Cerbere. 
And twenty floating 
batteries. 



THE SENTIMENT OF FRANCE. 

SCENE IX THR FRENCH CORPS LEGISLATIF — PRO- 
TESTS AGAINST THE WAR — POSITION OF THE LIB- 
ERALS. 

The first glimpse of the true history of the 
declaration of war was obtained from the 
Paris papers of July 17th, containing the 
report of Friday's debate in the Corps L§gis- 
latif. After the Due de Gramont's decla- 
ration, a demand was made for the dis- 
patches. OUivier, after refusing to give 
them, was compelled to admit that France 
had finally declared war on account of the 
Prussian dispatch communicating to the 
European Courts the King's refusal to re- 
ceive the French Ambassador ; and that this 
dispatch, thus made the basis of war, had 
not been seen by any French Minister. The 
Government had, in fact, declared war on 
what purported to be an abstract of that 
dispatch, supplied by two French spies, 
whose names were withheld. 

When war was announced the Left re- 
fused to join in the shouts of the majority. 
When the majority voted an extra war credit 
of 500,000,000 francs, the Left again sat si- 
lent. The majority, thereupon, began a ve- 
hement altercation. 

M. Thiers said : When such a demonstra- 
tion is made, I wish to say why I did not rise 
with the majority. I believe I love my 
country. If there was ever a solemn day it 
is this. When war shall be declared nobody 
will grant to Government more readily than 
I the means of conquering. My patriotism 
equals yours. We are considering a declara- 
tion of war made by the ministry of the 



28 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



tribune. Does such a declaration concern 
the ministry alone, not us ? Our duty is to 
reflect. The resolution you have just 
adopted is the death of thousands of men. 
One instant, I beseech you, of reflection ! 
Bethink you of May 8, 1866. You refused 
then to hear me when I sought to show you 
what was about to happen. Let that recol- 
lection persuade you to listen now. The 
principal demand of Government has been 
conceded ; [Interruption] my conscience 
tells me I fulfil a duty in resisting imprudent 
passions, and representing soberly the coun- 
try's interests. Is this a time for you to 
break the peace on a mere question of sus- 
ceptibility ? You are shedding torrents of 
blood for question of form. I ask for the 
dispatches upon which resolution for war 
has been adopted. If I had the honor to 
govern my country, I should have wished to 
give it time for reflection. I regard this war 
as an imprudence, and its occasion as ill- 
chosen. More than anybody else, I desire 
reparation for 1866. No doubt Prussia has 
deceived us. [Interruption.] You do not 
understand that I discharge the most painful 
duty of my life. I pity you ; insult me if 
you will ; I will endure everything ; but you 
do not fulfil your whole duty, and that is 
why I call for the dispatches. 

M. Ollivier, briefly replying, refused the 
dispatches absolutely. 

M. Gambetta renewed the demand, saying: 
"You put the responsibility of war on a 
dispatch ; you must show us the dispatch." 
M. Ollivier. — " I will read two dispatches, 
but not the signatures, for our agents would 
be sent away." M. Ollivier then read part 
of one dispatch, confirming the refusal of 
King William to receive the French Ambas- 
sador, and two dispatches from French 
agents abroad, giving the substance of Bis- 
marck's circular. The circular itself, M. 
Ollivier did not pretend to produce. He 
concluded by saying : " We go to war with 
a light heart, and confident in our army." 

After an interval and other questions, M. 
Ollivier said ; " We will tell the whole truth : 
What we could not endure was the semi- 
oflBcial communication to all Europe of the 
rejection of our Ambassador, all the more 
significant because done in the most cour- 
teous terms." " The right," says La Liberie, 
a vehement war organ, " received M. Olli- 
vier's speech, with consternation." M. 
Thiers attempted to reply, but was inter- 
rupted. 

M. Duvernois. — War is due to Cabinet 
blunder. 

M. Thiers. — It is to a blunder that we 
owe war. M. Ollivier has evaded the ques- 
tion. Prussia ought to have been attacked 
when she desired to unite the German States ; 
then war would have been legitimate, and 
we should have been sustained. I blamed 
Sadowa at the time ; to-day the world de- 
mands legitimate complaints. Prussia also 
has committed a great fault in negotiating 
with Spain ; yet Prussia wished peace, and 



we have war. If we had still to require the 
renunciation of the HohenzoUern candida- 
ture, I should be with you, but now that we 
have obtained that, we demand something 
else. You had not only obtained your result ; 
you had form and substance both ; yet you 
say Prussia has not yielded in form, and we 
have been insulted. Public opinion will 
turn against us ; the journals of Europe will 
be against us. Prussia never would have 
resumed this candidature. It would have 
been madness. 

Due de Gramont. — Why, then, did she not 
promise ? 

M. Arago. — Because you challenged her. 
M. Thiers. — She refused because you be- 
gan all. I know well that I shock your feel- 
ings, but I know there is the heart of the 
question. I have heard my opinions echoed 
on all sides. 

Great clamors here arose, and M. Thiers, 
in reply to the interruptions, declared that 
" he would only yield the tribune to violence." 
He then resumed : We no longer live in the 
peace-at-any-price times ; to demand war at 
any price is the servility of a courtier. But 
I am of no party. 

M. David accused Thiers of wanting 
patriotism and bringing misfortune upon 
France. [Cries of " Order !" on the Left.] 

M. Thiers. — Misfortune upon France ! It 
is not I who have caused it. It is they who 
wotild not listen to our warnings, you who 
voted Mexico and Sadowa. Had you but 
permitted us to discuss now under a liberal 
regime, would you refuse to hear me ? You 
shall not hinder me from speaking : my duty 
is to pour light on a great fault. 

Nothing could be so significant as such a 
speech from Thiers, who has constantly 
shown a jealous dislike of Prussia, a readi- 
ness for war on any reasonable pretext, and 
a belief that France ought to do as she likes 
in Europe, Not one word of this speech was 
allowed to reach England by telegraph. 
There has been a systematic eflbrt to deceive 
Europe about public opinion in France re- 
specting war, and to deceive France about 
the opinions of Europe. Telegrams to Eng- 
lish papers during the past week have mis- 
represented the tone of the French independ- 
ent press, and suppressed the manifestations 
against war. The French telegrams declared 
that the French press was all for war. This 
is true only of the Government organs. I'he 
Dibats, Temps, Eappel, Steele, Reveil and 
Cloche are all strongly opposed to it. The 
most eminent Republican leaders were for 
peace ! Louis Blanc, in the Temps and 
Rappel, protested with matchless vigor and 
ability against this last imperial crime. Even 
journals like the Figaro, mere organs of 
what is popular to-day, have given but doubt- 
ful support to the Government. An immense 
majority of the provincial journals resisted 
war. The demonstrations on the Boulevard 
were police work ; the students .took little 
part in what was attributed to them. A 
letter in Rappel shows that the disposition 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 



29 



of the Liberal party, as a whole, throughout 
Prance is against the war, but they can no 
longer oppose it. Popular or not in its 
origin, the war fever runs high for the mo- 
ment, and not even the French exiles want 
to see France beaten. Telegrams to the 
French papers similarly misrepresented the 
English press. Some journals at the begin- 
ning were inclined toward France, in the 
hope that Prussia would yield, and the tele- 
grams give what was said against Prussia, 
but suppress everything against France. 
The press censorship was never more active 
and unscrupulous. In spite of its first 
wavering, the English press now, without 
exception, charges France with the responsi- 
bility for war. "J'he Due de Gramont's state- 
ment, with all its falsehoods, imposes on 
nobody. The interview between Benedetti 
and the King is perfectly understood as a 
premeditated insult by Benedetti, and a 
violation of every diplomatic usage, while 
Prussia's dignified attitude under repeated 
provocations has won her the sympathy of 
Europe. 

BISMARCK. 

The following extracts from a letter written 
by the New York Tribune^s well-known 
correspondent, " G. W. S.," in 1866. entitled 
and describing " an Afternoon with Bis- 
marck," will have renewed interest at the 
present time : 

"The opinion we have in America that 
Bismarck is King of Prussia, and that the 
other is King only in name, is a wrong 
opinion. The royal authority is a very posi- 
tive fact in this country, the ruling monarch, 
is a man of strong will, has a mind of his own 
on all public matters, and will not be led 
blindly about, nor submit himself readily to 
the guidance of any one. He requires to be 
persuaded, and will do no public act till he sees, 
or thinks he sees, it is in accordance with his 
own views. There is no country in Europe 
where the traditions of kingly rule are more 
potent, and no King who abides more firmly 
by his own convictions based upon hereditary 
opinions. In the Divine right and grace of God 
theories he believes profoundly. There was 
nothing from which he more shrunk than a 
war with Austria, which was to him the 
natural ally of Prussia and the representative 
of Imperialism in Europe. It was step by 
step that he advanced to the collision which 
his pride as a King and his judgment as a 
politician both told him was against his 
interests. But William is soldier as well as 
King, and when affairs came to such a crisis 
that he deemed his honor as an officer 
pledged to war, then, and then only, was 
war possible. It has been, one may suppose, 
not the easiest part of Count Bismarck's task 
for the last four years to conduct along his 
own path, which led inevitably, though not 
visibly, to war with Austria, such a man as 
King William. 

" 'rhis notion of the King might be derived 
from the common talk in Berlin society as 



well as from Count Bismarck. In what 
follows I give not always the words, but 
always the substance of what Bismarck said, 
and much of it«" importance consists in the 
fact that he said it. The student of European 
politics will find several grave questions here 
answered positively, which heretofore have 
been answered only conjecturally. At the 
beginning he spoke with an air of great 
weariness, on which he himself commented, 
observing that he had been Tip for two nights, 
and that it was many months since he had 
had any rest. ' I am so tired,' said the Count, 
' that if I could sleep for ten hours I should 
not wake, and if I were waked, I could sleep 
for ten more.' Upon this, which was said 
laughingly, I rose to go, but was put down 
in my chair again, and after a few sentences 
Count Bismarck began with a personal nar- 
rative. To those who are familiar with the 
history of the struggle in Prussia between 
Bismarck and the Liberals, and in Germany 
between Prussia and Austria, the bearing 
of this brief report will be sufficiently clear. " 
When the former Ministry resigned, in 
1862, they had brought the King into collision 
with Parliament, and there left him. Count 
Bisrnarck, in assuming office, found himself 
obliged to continue this conflict. On the 
question of the army, the King and the 
Parliament could not be as one. The army 
needed a radical change in its organization, 
and having been mobilized in 1859, that op- 
portunity had been taken as most convenient 
for the increase of the regiments. To-day 
every one sees that this step has proved 
essential to the success of Prussia, but its 
necessity was what no one would then believe, 
because the exigency of to-day was not fore- 
seen, and its probable arrival could not be 
safely explained or predicted. But the 
regiments were increased, new officers were 
appointed, for whose pay thei*e was no con- 
stitutional provision, and other large expenses 
were incurred. Parliament demanded that 
all this should be undone, but to disband the 
regiments and discharge the officers was 
impossible in view of such a futiire as has 
since arrived, nor could the money which 
had been paid out be recalled into the treas- 
ury. The budget, which Parliament de- 
manded should be annulled, represented in 
fact, for the most part, sums of money 
already disbursed, 'j'he conflict was, there- 
fore, not only irrepressible, but incapable of 
adjustment without abandoning a policy 
essential to the safety of Prussia, or without 
such explanations of that policy as would 
have insured in advance its defeat. 

"In respect of foreign policy," said Count 
Bismarck, " I foresaw that the reorganized 
army was a necessity ; that upon it, and not 
upon Parliaments, or speeches before dinner, 
or after dinner, rniist Prussia depend for her 
hope of nationality. A nation she then was 
not, in the high sense of that word, nor was 
there hope that with her fantastical frontiers 
and outlying provinces her people should 
groy% to think themselves one. The territorial 



30 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



configuration of the country was a source of 
weakness not to be obviated by even a far 
stronger sentiment of nationality than then 
existed, and it was before alJ'things essential 
to the future of Germany that there should 
be first a Prussia able to insist on its opinions. 
I repeat, to declare such a policy in advance 
was to defeat it. The King would have 
opposed it utterly, Austria would have been 
forewarned and supplied with weapons, for- 
eign courts would have scouted it as vision- 
ary, or have actively thwarted every step 
towards its accomplishment. To-day the 
work is done, but its final success I look upon 
as assured. North of the Main, Germany is 
one. * * * * 

" The sudden and extraordinary success of 
Prussia alarmed the Emperor of the French 
in the prospect of a united Germany, a great 
German power established in a moment in 
the center of Europe and upon the frontier 
of France, and his interposition in the peace 
negotiations was to prevent that complete 
union. The part which he actually played 
was a part very different from that which he 
first contemplated. * * * To have per- 
sisted at that moment would have been to 
go to war with France as well as with Aus- 
tria. 

" The result of the war is to make it possible 
that Prussia should be a nation capable to 
govern itself. She fought for defence, for 
own existence, and for Germany. Some peo- 
ple fancied it possible to unite Germany by 
speeches at Frankfort, but there were only 
two things which could make a Germany — 
a war or a revolution. Had Prussia not 
been able to lead the movement, she was 
likely to have been broken in pieces territo- 
rially, and Bavaria or Saxony would have 
had as much control in German politics as 
Prussia, while in European politics she 
might have been no better than another 
Belgium. The nationality of Prussia lay in 
her army. With the army as it was in 18.59, 
it would have been impossible to fight. Two- 
thirds of her force was comprised in the 
Landwehr (the militia), unavailable for in- 
stant necessities, and the ranks were filled 
with men who had families and wished no 
war. It was necessary to break that up. I 
believe the Liberal party of Prussia now 
sees that a policy has been pursued during 
the last four years tending steadily to one 
end, and that the means employed were, if 
not the only, at least a sure method of reach- 
ing it. They clearly see that it was impossi- 
ble to make such explanatiens as might 
have removed the necessity for the conflict 
I was obliged to carry on against them. I 
rejoice at their cerdial acquiescence in the 
results that have been achieved, and that 
their assurance of good will and support are 
sincere I heartily believe — I should pro- 
foundly regret to doubt it — God forbid. On 
my part, be sure the feeling is cordial. The 
King's speech was sincere, and his desire to 
be on good terms with the Liberals is a 
genume one, and I trust will continue. But ' 



the influences which surround the King are 
well known and they cannot always be suc- 
cessfully opposed." 

Much more was said about the King, 
which I must omit. The very interesting 
narrative which Count Bismarck gave of the 
circumstances attending his accession to 
oflice four years ago, and of his interviews 
with the King — these also must be passed 
over. I will only add that while the Minister 
President evidently finds his abilities often 
sorely tasked to persuade the King into his 
views of foreign and home policy. Count 
Bismarck, as a Prussian, is animated by a 
sentiment of loyalty perfectly genuine. He 
may speak of the King at times with some 
freedom, but he will always serve him faith- 
fully. " You, as a Republican," said Count 
Bismarck, " cannot understand the feeling 
with which when called to the Ministry I 
proffered my services to the King. For four 
or five hundred years ray ancestors had 
served his. That I should tell him when I 
thought him wrong, was not less necessary 
than that so long as I continued Minister I 
should obey. When it became impossible to 
obey, it was possible to resign." There is a 
contrast here which will not fail to suggest 
itself. On one side the Ministry, conducting 
the King step by step along a path he would 
not tread for one instant could he but see 
whither it led ; on the other, the subject, 
professing and sincerely feeling the utmost 
loyalty to his sovereign. This is none the 
less human nature because it happens to be 
a contradiction. It is true also that loyalty 
to the Crown is a national sentiment among 
the Prussians, and that the throne of the 
Hohenzollerns stands firmer to-day than that 
of any royal house in Europe. I have heard 
from Liberals expressions of attachment to 
the King, as King, which would surprise 
those who are accustomed to think of Liber- 
alism and Republicanism as one. 

That Count Bismarck's opinions on con- 
stitutional government are not likel^r to find 
favor among those of us in America who 
believe in a government founded on ideas, 
I am very sure ; but such as they are I give 
them. In respect to Prussian affairs, the 
question was considered in some details, but 
the general statement is at least compact 
and lucid. " In a government by written 
constitution there is no such thing as an 
absolute right on either side. A right abso- 
lute in terms must be subject to limitation 
in practice when its exercise comes in colli- 
sion with another right equally perfect in 
theory, as must often be the case. Both are 
rights, but their co-enjoyment may prove 
quite impossible ; then one must give way, 
and the welfare of the State must determine 
which. Be sure that in a parliamentary 
constitutional government, if you adopt the 
maxim ^a< justitia, pereat mundus, it is the 
pereat mundus that will always come upon 
you." 

The conversation touched brieflv on Ameri- 
can topics : " In our relations with the Uni- 




MAESIIAL MacMAHON. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



sa 



ted States, I never had a doubt. The Tory 
party in Prussia, to which I am supposed to 
belong, at the outbreak of your war, besought 
the King to recognize the South. I opposed 
it inflexibly. To me it was clear that the 
North only could be the true ally of Prussia ; 
with the South we had nothing in common. 
The Government of Prussia never wavered 
in its friendship for yours. [The sentence 
was uttered proudly, and the burning eyes 
flamed brighter than ever.] It is a tradi- 
tional policy with us. Frederick the Great 
was, I think, the first European sovereign 
to recognize your independence. I am 
heartily glad to know that America under- 
stands and reciprocates the friendly feeling 
we have steadily maintained." 

And here follows a curious statement — a 
fact not known to me before, and I think un- 
published in America. " At the beginning 
of our war," said Count Bismarck, "Austria 
was stronger than we on the water, and 
Italy was not sure to us. It was proposed 
to me that the leading Southern naval offi- 
cers should join us with 5,000 men and suita- 
ble vessels. They were not to come at all as 
the Confederate navy, but as individuals, 
and the most eminent officers among them 
were included in the offer. I consulted your 
Minister to know whether an acceptance of 
this offer would be offensive to the American 
Government. Mr. Wright was in doubt, 
and wrote to Washington. He received in- 
structions to oppose the scheme, and I at 
once declined having anything to do with it. 
Semmes made the proposal." 

ENTHUSIASTIC EECEPTION OF THE KING OF 
PBITSSIA AT BEBLIN. 

The King arrived at Berlin on the 16th of 
July from Ems, and foimd fully 100,000 peo- 
ple at the station waiting to escort him to the 
palace. The route lay through the splendid 
street, Unter den Linden, which was covered 
with flags and grandly illuminated for the 
occasion. All along the march the crowd 
shouted, cheered and sang national hymns. 
The King afterward repeatedly came forward 
and saluted the crowd from the palace win- 
dows. 

The volunteering all over Prussia was ex- 
traordinary. The entire male population de- 
manding arms. 

The North German Parliament met on 
July 20th, to vote the necessary credits for 
war expenses. 

King William sent to the Chamber of Com- 
merce of Hamburg a grateful acknowledg- 
ment of the patriotic address of that body. 
He regrets the sacrifice which the honor of 
Germany exacts, but will do his duty, leav- 
ing the event in the hands of God. 

On the night of the 17th of July, 1870, 
the first 

INVASION OF PSUSSIANS XJEON FRENCH 
SOIL 

was made. They advanced as far as Sierck, 
-in the Department of Moselle, for the evi- 
3 



dent purpose of destroying the railroad at 
that point ; and on the same date, railway and 
telegraphic communication between France 
and Prussia was stopped. Count Benedetti 
arri-ved in Paris a few days before. Coming 
from Ems instead of Berlin, he did not re- 
ceive his passport. He -came to give the 
Emperor verbal explanations. 

Baron Werther, the North German Min- 
ister, and all the members of his embassy 
left Paris the same day, for Berlin. 

Before the departure of Baron Werther, 
the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, 
expressed his regret on account of the con- 
duct of Prussia and the course Baron Wer- 
ther himself had chosen to take before the 
final rupture of friendly relations. It is said 
that when the Baron retarned here from 
Ems a few days ago, he neglected to call 
upon the Duke of Gramont until the latter 
had sent for him, and even then said " he had 
nothing to communicate." This coldness 
created great surprise. 

Eight days before, the Count Bismarck 
sent by special messenger to Baron Werther, 
the Ambassador of the North German Con- 
federation, an order to make no concession 
to the French Government. " Do not be too 
much impressed," Bismarck continues in his 
dispatch ; " we are ready. Prolong the situa- 
tion, if possible, to the 20th of July." 

The French Journals argued from this, 
that Prussia meant war from the beginning, 
and only sought to gain time. 

Aboiat this time, great activity prevailed 
in the Prussian Fortresses of Rastadt, in Ba- 
den. The soldiers of Baden, commanded by 
Prussian officers, were detailed to man the 
ramparts and parapets, and Prince Royal 
Frederick William took command of the 
armies of the States of Southern Germany. 

On the 18th of July, the Emperor of the 
French left for the seat of war, with the 
Prince Imperial, a mere boy. "The Em- 
peror, his father, wished it, and his mother, 
the Empress, did not object." Marshals 
MacMahon, Bazaine, and Canrobert, were 
appointed to command the main divisions of 
the Imperial French forces. 

MABSHAL MACMAHON. 

Marshal MacMahon, who held chief com- 
mand of the French army, has well earned 
the reputation of a brave and skilful soldier. 
His father was a Lieutenant-General in the 
armies of France, and had him educated at 
the military school of St. Cyr. At the age 
of nineteen, he was sub-Lieutenant in the 
4th Hussars. He exchanged into a regiment 
bound for Africa, where, on the hill of Mon- 
zai. Gen. Clanzel rewarded him with the 
Cross of the Legion of Honor, on account of 
the reckless daring he had displayed. An 
incident in the African campaign shows his 
intrepid character. At the close of the suc- 
cessful battle of Terchia, Gen. Achard wished 
to send an order to Col. Rulhieres at Blidah, 
between three and four miles oS', to change 
the order of his march. This commission he 



34 



THE rRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



entrnsted to MacMahon, and offered him a 
squadron of mounted chasseurs as an escort. 
He declined their protection, and rode off 
alone. His journey lay entirely through the 
enemy's country, which was rugged and ir- 
regular. About six hundred yards from 
Blidah lay a ravine, broad, deep, and pre- 
cipitous. MacMahon had risen close to the 
ravine, when suddenly he beheld a host of 
Arabs in full pursuit of him from every side. 
One look told him his chances. There was 
no alternative than to jump the treacherous 
abyss, or be butchered by his pursuers. He 
set his horse's head at the leap, put spur and 
whip to it, and cleared the ravine at a bound. 
The pursuing Arabs, dismayed, ventured no 
further, and only sent after the daring sol- 
dier a shower of bullets, as horse and rider 
rolled over on the other side, with the poor 
steed's leg broken. At the attack on Oon- 
stantine he received further promotion. He 
continued connected with African warfare 
and public affairs until the opening of the 
Russian war, when more favorable opportu- 
nity to attain military fame presented itself. 
On the 8th of September, the perilous honor 
devolved on him of carrying the Malakoff, 
which formed the key of the defences of Se- 
hastopol. The impetuous ardor of his troops 
proved irresistible. They entered the works, 
and maintained for hours a desperate conflict 
-with the Russians. Pellissier, the Comman- 
der-in-Chief, believed the fort was mined. 
He sent MacMahon orders to retire. "I 
will hold my ground," was the reply, " dead 
or alive." Success crowned his bravery, and 
the tricolor soon floated above the fortress. 

After more brilliant services in Algeria, 
the Austrian war next called him to the 
field. In one week from the commencement 
of hostilities, the French had driven back 
the Austrians across the Ticino, turned their 
flank, and forced them to give battle. With 
a suddenness which the French had not an- 
ticipated, the Austrians, on the 4th of June, 
1859, with a force of 150,000 men, attacked 
the advancing French at the bridge of Ma- 
genta. The choicest French troops were 
there, and they met the attack with un- 
broken front, and drove back the foe with 
loss. But the Austrians, re-enforced at 
every moment, seemed destined to be the 
victors. MacMahon with the force under 
his command had, early in the day, crossed 
the river farther up to execute a flank move- 
ment. He heard the booming of the guns, 
and in a moment realized the situation. 
Hastily reversing his orders, he advanced 
against the enemy. The movement proved 
decisive. The Austrians were utterly routed, 
and fled in disorder, leaving 7,000 prisoners 
in the hands of the victors, and 20,000 sol- 
diers killed and wounded on the field of bat- 
tle. In 1861, MacMahon, now Duke of 
Magenta, attended the coronation of William 
of Prussia, whom now he encounters in 
deadly warfare. In physical appearance. 
Marshal MacMahon is rather below the 
middle size, with small, but well-shaped face 



and head, and spare, lightsome figure. He 
is now in his sixty-second year. 

MAKSHAL CANBOBEBT. 

Marshal Canrobert has been the com- 
panion-in-arms of MacMahon on many a 
hard-fought field. At the age of twenty-six 
he left France for the African campaign, and 
took an active share in some desperate con- 
flicts. In 1837, he received his first wound 
on the breach at the assault on Constantine. 
He fell at the side of Colonel Combes, who, 
dying, recommended him to Marshal Vallee, 
saying, " There is a brilliant future for this 
ofiicer." Until 1849, Canrobert was engaged 
in the most desperate engagements of the 
Algerian campaigns, and on the accession of 
Prince Napoleon to power, he attached him- 
self to his fortunes. He commanded the 
French forces in the Crimea for some time, 
and shared in all the earlier battles fought 
during the operations against Sebastopol. 
During the Italian war he displayed great 
daring at Magenta, and at Solferino was 
charged with duties upon which depended 
the issue of that battle. 

THE EXCITEMENT IN PABIS. 

The Empress arrived in Paris on the 17th 
of July, from St. Cloud, and was enthusiasti- 
cally received. 

A loan of six months treasury bonds, to 
the amount of 500,000,000 francs, was taken 
up in a few hours. The Credit Foncier and 
the Bank of France made efforts to monopo- 
lize the entire amovmt. 

Passports were sent to the Count de 
Solms, in charge of the affairs of the Prus- 
sian Legation, the moment news was re- 
ceived that Prussian troops had crossed the 
frontier. Regiments were passing through 
the city all night on their way to the fron- 
tier. Great crowds gathered on the side- 
walks, and cheered the soldiers as they 
passed. At all the gardens and places of 
amusement patriotic demonstrations were 
made. 

The excitement was intense. No opposi- 
tion to the war was made, and the press de- 
nounced the speech of M. Thiers in the 
Corps Legislatif. 

It was announced that 280,000 French 
troops were ready to cross into Germany. 
The announcement that the Emperor in- 
tended to head the army in person, and by a 
series of rapid movements arrive at the 
Rhine before Prussia completed her defences, 
was received with great cheering. 

An order was issued that the pupils of the 
second year at the Military School of St. 
Oyk join the army, with the rank of sub-lieu- 
tenants. 

PBOCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE AND COBPS 
LEGISLATIF— DISCUSSION OF THE WAB 
QUESTION— THE DEMANDS OF THE GOV- 
EENMENT ACCEDED TO. 
In the Corps Legislatif, M. Thiers, in a 

long speech, pronounced against the decla 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



35 



mation of the Government. He found, after 
all was said, that France had received satis- 
faction from Prussia, and war should not be 
made on her for a mere formality. 

Prime Minister Ollivier responded to M. 
Thiers. He said it was impossible for the 
Government to do otherwise than it had 
done. 

M. Thiers again took the floor. He recalled 
Mexico and Sadowa, and said the Govern- 
ment had made a new blunder. 

The majority interrupted the speaker, but 
he continued amid the greatest agitation. 
When silence was restored, M. Gambetta de- 
manded that all the correspondence had with 
Prussia be laid before the Corps L6gislatif. 

Jules Favre seconded the motion in a long 
speech, asserting that France could not make 
war on the authority of telegraphic dispatches. 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs replied 
that it was necessary to make war. and to do 
so immediately, in order to give Prussia no 
time to arm. If any other course was pur- 
sued he could no longer remain in the Min- 
istry. 

The question was then put to vote, and the 
demand for the correspondence was rejected 
by 164 against 84. The Corps then adjourned 
till 8 o'clock in the evening. 

On reassembling, the following projects of 
law were brought forward : 

First. To call the Garde Mobile into active 
service. 

Second. To authorize the enlistment of 
volunteers for the war. 

Third. To issue a demand loan of 50,000,- 
000 francs in aid of the army, and 16,000,000 
in aid of the navy. 

After a short debate, all these propositions 
were carried by the following vote : For, 246 ; 
against, 10. Many members of the party of 
the Left refused to vote. 

In the Senate yesterday, after the Duke of 
Gramont had finished his declaration, M. 
Rouher asked if any Senator wished to speak. 
Loud cries of " no, no," followed. 

M. Rouher then said: "As President of 
the Senate I will state that the Senate, re- 
sponding for the nation, approves the con- 
duct of the Government. We must place 
our hopes in Providence, and rely upon our 
courage for the triumph of our rights." 

After the session the Senate proceeded in 
a body to St. Cloud, where they were received 
by the Emperor and Empress. 

M. Rouher, President, said " the Senate 
thanked the Emperor for the permission of 
expressing to the Throne its patriotic senti- 
ments. A monarchial combination, injurious 
to the prestige and security of France, had 
been mysteriously favored by Prussia. On our 
representations, Prince Leopold renounced 
the throne of Spain. Spain, who returns our 
friendship, then renounced a candidature so 
wounding to us. Without doubt, immediate 
danger was thus avoided ; but oiir legitimate 
complaint remains. Was it not evident that 
a foreign power, to prejudice our honor and 
interests, wished to disturb the balance of 



power in Europe ? Had we not the right to 
demand of that power guarantees against a 
possible recurrence of such an attempt ? This 
is refused, and the dignity of France insulted. 
Your Majesty draws the sword, and the coun- 
try is with you, eager for and proud of the occa- 
sion. You have waited long; but during 
this time you raised to perfection the mili- 
tary organization of France. By your care 
France is prepared. Her enthusiasm proves 
that, like your Majesty, she will not tolerate 
wrong. Let our august Empress become 
again the depositary of the imperial power. . 
The great bodies of the State surround Her 
Majesty with their absolute devotion. The 
nation has faith in her wisdom and energy. 
Let your Majesty resume with noble confi- 
dence the command of the legions you led at 
Magenta and Solferino. If peril has come, 
the hour of victory is near, and soon a grate- 
ful country will decree to her children the 
honors of triumph ; soon Germany will be 
freed from the domination which has op- 
pressed her, and peace will be restored to 
Europe through the glovy of our arms. Your 
Majesty, who so recently received a proof of 
the national good will, may then once more 
devote yourself to reforms, the realization of 
which is only retarded. Time only is needed 
to conquer." 

The Emperor warmly thanked the Presi- 
dent and members of the Senate. 

The war feeling had, by this time, taken 
entire control of the inhabitants of Paris. 

The Duke of Gramont, after leaving the 
Senate Chamber, was greeted by crowds upon 
the streets with most enthusiastic cheers and 
plaudits. 

A demonstration was made in front of the 
residence of M. Thiers to express dissatisfac- 
tion at his course in the Corps Legislatif. 
'J'his was followed by a demonstration in his 
favor. The latter, the Journal de France 
says, was not respectably supported, and was 
the work of " unknown creatures." 

The troops in Paris sang the " Marseil- 
laise," and the artistes at the various places 
of amusement were allowed to sing it also, 
the audiences in all cases joining enthusias- 
tically. Everywhere the boulevards and 
streets were crowded with people almost wild 
with excitement. 

A FORMAL DECLARATION OF WAR FROM 
FRANCE TO PRUSSIA. 

On the 18th of July, 1870. a formal declara- 
tion of war was sent by France to Berlin. 
France also informed Prussia that she will 
not use explosive bullets if Prussia will not. 

THE FORMAL DECLARATION. 

THE JEXCUSE of FRANCE — IMMENSE PREPARATIONS — 
POPULAE DEMONSTRATIONS ON BOTH SIDES. 

An extra edition of the Gonstitutionnel, 
issued at noon, announced that in conse- 
quence of the insult offered to Benedetti (the 
French Minister), France accepts the war 
which Prussia offers. 



36 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



The French declaration of war is based on 
the following causes : 

First : The insult offered at Ems to Count 
Benedetti, the French Minister, and its ap- 
proval by the Prussian Government. 
i Second : The refusal of the King of Prussia 
to compel the withdrawal of Prince Leopold's 
name as a candidate for the Spanish throne. 

Third : The fact that the King persisted 
in giving the Prince liberty to accept the 
-jrown. 

The declaration concludes as follows : 

"The extraordinary constitutional changes 
in Prussia awaken the slumbering recollec- 
tions of 1814. Let us cross the Rhine, and 
avenge the insults of Prussia. The victors 
of Jena survive." 

The Bundesrath of the North German 
Confederation met in Berlin. The Prussian 
Diet was already in session. The chiefs of 
all parties assured the King of their unquali- 
fied approval of his dignified and energetic 
attitude. 

The belligerents engaged to respect the 
neutrality of Belgium, yet troops were rapidly 
concentrating at Antwerp and other strategic 
points. The specie and bullion in the Na- 
tional Bank at Antwerp were removed to the 
citadel, and an issue of paper money an- 
nounced. 

THE UNITED STATES. 

' German mass meetings were held through- 
out the Union. These led to the organization 
of Aid Societies, etc., etc. 

THE MASS MEETING AT STEINWAY HALL, 
NEW TORK CITY. 

(By our own Correspondent.) 

New YorJc City, July 21sf, 1870. 

The war enthusiasm prevailing among the 
German population of this city culminated 
last night in a grand mass meeting at Stein- 
way Hall, called by a Committee of the 
leading Germans residing in this city. At 
8 o'clock, the appointed time of the meeting, 
the hall was full to repletion. Not only the 
4,000 seats, but every inch of standing-room 
in balcony and aisles, was occupied, and 
crowds overflowed into the halls, about every 
door-way, vainly striving for admission. 
Notwithstanding the crowd, and the enthusi- 
asm which prevailed, the whole proceeding 
was notable for the orderly and decorous 
conduct characteristic with the German 
people on such occasions. They came and 
went unmolested, " paceable as kin be." As 
the policeman expressed it, " they're all on 
the won side !" Nothing like a disturbance 
occurred to mar the dernonstration. 

In the Hall, the stage was appropriately 
decorated with American and German flags ; 
the invited guests seated in rows along the 
rear and sides of the stage, and the band in 
the orchestra chairs ; the space in front, 
about the speakers' stand, being left open. 

Beside the speakers of the evening, whose 
names are given below, there were many 



prominent citizens among the 50 gentlemen 
seated upon the stage, including Mr.Petrarch, 
the Secretary of the Society for the Aid of 
the Wounded and Sick Soldiers of Prussia, 
and of Soldiers' Widows ; and Gen. Sigel and 
Messrs. Wm. Steinway, E. 'I'auer, President 
of the New German American Bank, Hugo 
Wesendouck, Dr. Krakowitzer, and Messrs. 
Bauendahl, Schlesinger, Roelker, Kunoth, 
and other well-known merchants. 

A feature of the evening was the singing 
of the Liederkranz and Arion Societies, who 
joined forces for the occasion. At about 8:15 
they filed across Union-square, arm in arm, 
numbering about 100 voices, and entered the 
rear door of the hall. " Die Macht am Rhein" 
and " Was ist dgs Deiitschen Yaterland " 
were received with great applause. The 
appropriate words of the latter, the magnifi- 
cent national air of the whole German-speak 
ing race, aroused tremendous enthusiasm. 
The very first lines embody the feeling which 
binds all the American Germans together aa 
a unit against France : 

" Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland ? 
Ist's Preussenland? ist's Schwabenland? 
Ist's wo am Khein die Uebe glueht t 
Ist's wo am Belt die Moewe zieht? 

O nein, nein, uein, 
Sein Yateriand muss groesser sein. 

4: 4: 4: :!: # ^ 4: ' 

" Was ist des Deutschen Vaterland ? ' 

So nenne endlich mir das Land ! 
So weit die deutsche Zunge klingt 
Und Gott im Himmel Lieder siugt — 

Das soil es sein, 
Das ganze Deutschland soil es sein." 

A work of art was exhibited during the 
evening, which caused much amusement. It 
was a brilliantly-colored banner, representing 
the "End of the War." The short and some- 
what pursy figure of Napoleonwas represented 
as hanging by the neck, his characteristic 
countenance distorted with anguish, while 
beneath the figure of Peace waves the banner 
of victorious Prussia before the eyes of a 
returned soldier, and other characters. 

The business of the meeting was com- 
menced by Mr. Petrarch, who called the 
assembly to order at 8 o'clock. He nomi- 
nated ex-Gov. Salomon for Chairman, who 
was chosen by acclamation. 

SPEECH OF EX-GOVEKNOE SALOMON. 

Gov. Salomon then spoke as follows : 
Fellow German Brothers : — In the first 
place, I thank you for the honor you confer 
upon me by making me Chairman of this 
mass meeting. Among the first remem- 
brances of us German Americans is the 
storm through which this country passed, 
and in which we showed our loyalty. When 
this country, in her hour of need, called you, 
jou responded, and your blood, spilled on 
the battle-field and recorded in history, shows 
that Germans know how to fight for their 
land of adoption. Therefore we dare say that 
this meeting, where we expect to express our 
sympathy for our mother country, and stand 
by it as much as our duty to the laws of our 
adopted country permit, is not amiss ; Amer- 



THE rRA.NCO-GERMAN WAR. 



37 



ica is our father, and Germany our mother. 
We owe allegiance to both. The man who 
in 1848 could cause women and children to be 
killed in the streets of Paris, who ever since 
has kept Europe in a continued fear ; he, 
with one foot in the grave, tries to preserve 
his tottering throne for his son, and has de- 
clared war upon Germany to give the mer- 
curial and vain-glorious Frenchman some- 
thing to think of beside revolution. The 
reason he gave for the war has been taken 
away — the German Prince who was to as- 
cend the throne of Spain has withdrawn. 
But Napoleon feels his throne giving way. 
The farce of the Plebiscitum did not help 
him. He wishes to maintain his power at 
the expense of German blood and German 
unity. 

The French jealousy of German power is 
the true cause of the present conflict. Ger- 
many must be divided, annihilated, to make 
France greater, and therefore we stand on 
the eve of one of the most tremendous wars 
ever witnessed, and which will decide the 
fate of Germany. Germany should be united 
in taking up the glove thrown down by 
France. France wants to see Germany di- 
vided, and therefore it wishes war. Let us 
be united. We Germans of America should 
send to our brothers in fatherland the tiding 
that we are with them in the fight and have 
brotherly feelings with them ; that we will 
do all we can for them, without forgetting 
our duty to the United States. Once more 
I say, let us be united. 

THE EESOLTITIONS. 

Ex-Governor Salomon continued : " Mr. 
Petrarch will now read to you resolutions 
which we propose for your adoption." The 
resolutions were then read, and are as fol- 
lows : 

Common sense demands that international 
relations be governed by the interests of na- 
tions and not by those of princes. Every 
nation has the right to determine its own 
destiny, and no other people is authorized to 
cripple it. If Germany is weary of its inter- 
nal discords of many centuries, and if the one 
nation desires a consolidation under one gov- 
ernment, no right of veto is given to any 
power on earth. If France covets the leader- 
ship in Europe, Germany is not, therefore, 
bound to do it the favor to remain in weak- 
ness. If France chooses an emperor, and if 
the throne of this emperor is on a firm foun- 
dation but so long as he is the mightiest of 
princes, this does not bind the German peo- 
ple to lay the insignia of their inalienable 
sovereignty at the feet of the Gallican Caesar. 
Not against Prussia, but against strengthened 
Germany his ire is directed. To Germany 
he has thrown down the gauntlet to mortal 
combat. Therefore not Prussia alone, but 
the entire German nation rises in its full 
majesty against the audacious man, who pre- 
sumes to trample nations in the dust to 
gratify his princely last. The Germans of 



America have become citizens of another 
country, but they have not divested them- 
selves of their nationality. The national 
cause is their cause. Unanimously they 
stand by it, firmly resolved to do all in their 
power, not inconsistent with their duties a^ 
American citizens, to turn the war which 
has been commenced by France, without any 
just cause whatever, to a triumph for Ger- 
many. It is therefore 

Resolved, 1. That we herewith organize a 
society for the purpose of furthering the 
cause of Germany, and more particularly 
for the purpose of nursing wounded German 
soldiers and of assisting in the support of the 
surviving widows and orphans. 

2. That an Executive Committee, consist- 
ing of Philip Bissinger, Dr. H. von Hoist, 
F. Kilian, Dr. E. Krakowitzer, Henry Merz, 
Oswald Ottendorfer, Theo. F. 0. Petrarch, 
Edward Salomon, Emil Sauer, Prof. A. J. 
Schem, Gen. Franz Sigel, William Steinway, 
L. J. Stiastny, and Hugo Wesendonck, be 
intrusted with the management of all affairs 
of this society. 

3. That every German society of the city 
of New York and vicinity be invited to send 
one delegate to the General Committee, whose 
duty it shall be to make proper arrangements 
for the collection of contributions of money, 
clothing, linen, lint, etc., during the continu- 
ance of the war. 

4. That both the Executive and the Gen- 
eral Committee be authorized to increase 
their respective numbers as they may deem 
proper, afid to enter into communication with 
similar societies of other cities and towns. 

In accordance with the principles above 
enunciated, it is further 

Resolved, That humanity and modern civ- 
ilization demand that the inviolability of pri- 
vate persons and private property be recog- 
nized by belligerent powers also at sea ; that 
the exertions of the United States and of 
other powers to embody this principle in the 
law of nations, deserve the highest regard ; 
and that, considering that this principle was 
first brought to recognition by the United 
States in their treaty with Frederick the 
Great in the year 1785, was subsequently, 
after various other efforts, brought to the 
attention of the powers of Europe by the 
well-known amendment proposed by Mr. 
Marcy to the Treaty of Paris of 1856, and 
has thereby obtained in history the name of 
the " American Amendment ;" considerii.* 
further, that this principle has already here- 
tofore been recognized by all the great Pow- 
ers of Europe, with the exception of Eng- 
land, that particularly Napoleon I. and also 
the present Emperor of France have given 
their unconditional adherence to its right- 
eousness, and that the King of Prussia has 
even, in case of reciprocity, elevated it in the 
year 1866 to a permanent law, we deem this 
the proper time of the Government of the 
United States to use at once all peaceful 
means at their command to secure the ad- 
herence also of France to this principle, and 



38 



THE FRANCO-GEKMAN WAR. 



its respect by the belligerents during the 
present war, and also, as soon as possible, its 
recognition by all civilized nations, for all 
future time, as a principle of international 
law. 

Resolved further, That, to this and this 
meeting do appoint a Committee, consisting 
of Edward Salomon, Joseph Seligman, and 
Oswald Ottendorfer, whose duty it shall be 
to lay the foregoing resolution before the 
President of the United States and the Sec- 
retary of State, and generally to take such 
action as they may deem proper to obtain 
from the Government a fulfilment of its 
great traditional duty to humanity, 

SPEECH OF SENATOS CAEL SCHUEZ. 

The resolutions were unanimously adopted 
amid loud cheers, and after singing of " Die 
Wacht am Rhein " by the " Arion and Lie- 
derkrantz Singers' Union," Governor Salo- 
mon introduced General Carl Schurz, who 
was received with thunders of applause. He 
said : 

My German Fellow-Citizens : I come to 
you to-night exhausted by long work and a 
prolonged session of the United States Con- 
gress. I don't know whether I shall be able 
to speak to you as I might have wished. I 
had hoped to have some rest, when the call 
came which will give no rest to any one. I 
wish to mingle my voice with the voice of 
the mass meeting which gives expression not 
only to the feeling of Germans, but of Amer- 
icans as well. In this moment the whole of 
America speaks. A bloody war tragedy de- 
velops itself on the Eastern Continent. We 
all know that war is the worst of evils, and 
he who begins it without sufficient reason 
takes upon himself a terrible responsibility. 
Spain tried to have a German Prince ascend 
a weak and worthless throne. France con- 
sidered the choice of that German Prince an 
insult. Could any one with clear common 
sense imagine that in this, the nineteenth 
century, the century of civilization, a war of 
succession could revolutionize Europe ? — 
Kings may be relatives ; they should not for- 
get that nations are related also. 

The first ground upon which war was de- 
clared was a lie. The Prince had withdrawn 
before it was declared. The second point was 
the insult of the King to a French Ambassador. 
Why was this insult offered? Because he 
did what no gentleman should do or does. 
He wished, while the King was drinking min- 
eral waters, to put him to an ultimatum, and 
he was rightly reprimanded. Kings, as a 
general thing, are not favorites in this coun- 
try, but William has acted as a gentleman. 
[Loud cheers.] Every German should be 
glad that a man is on the throne of Prussia 
who dares show his teeth, and is not intimi- 
dated by bravado. 

Now, this so-called insult was only another 
subterfuge. Ask Napoleon if he would have 
acted as Benedetti did, or if having done so, 
he would have considered the consequence as 
an insult ? No one is deceived by words, and 



no one believes the pretext. Every one 
knows that France wishes to dictate. Napo- 
leon well knows that French honor is a pecu- 
liar honor. When any nation acquires one 
foot of ground, France wants the same, or 
considers the aggrandizement as an insult. 
When taking a province herself, she does not 
wish to have anything said. The policy of 
Napoleon has been to consolidate the Roman 
nationality, at the same time he tried to upset 
German union. At the head of France, Na- 
poleon considers every concentration of power 
and union in Germany as a personal insult 
to France, because it lessens its prestige. 
Balance of power in Europe means, according 
to Napoleon, that France shall be a little 
heavier than the rest. And now the two 
great Powers of Europe stand armed in op- 
position. The war will be one of unprece- 
dented extent, and will decide the future fate 
of Germany, maybe of Europe. 

In one of the evening papers the story of 
an Englishman is given, who, having seen the 
two armies in position, says : " In the French 
camp there is loud and hilarious enthusiasm. 
The soldiers are drinking, shouting, and 
cheering. In the German camp all is quiet, 
but that quiet bespeaks determination." And 
it is a good sketch. With the usual French 
enthusiasm and bravado, the French array 
will cross the Rhine and enter Germany, 
there to be silently, but firmly, met by Ger- 
man bayonets. The Germans no longer are 
the soldiers of Jena, as Napoleon vainly tries 
to make his army believe. They have learned 
since then, and Sadowa shows what they 
have learned. But what will be the end of 
this all ? Not evil only. One great thing 
has already been accomplished. 

Germany is united. It was not so a week 
ago. The factions still rankled and glowed 
in the German breast. To-day nothing is 
there but a brotherly feeling, a sentiment of 
hate against an aggressive tyrant. Natur- 
ally our hopes are with our flag. The vic- 
tory of Prussia will be the fall of despotism ; 
the fall of a system which has made slaves 
of Europeans ; the fall of a system which has 
spread damnable poverty and ignominy, and 
above all, it will be the erection of a great 
kingdom in the centre of Europe, a kingdom 
which will be peace in reality and not in word 
only. 

Therefore, it is not strange that the Ger- 
mans and Americans are with us. A finer 
instinct makes the American see the finer 
and truer nature of the German. He knows 
that the day is not far distant when balance 
of power in Europe will be a name only. He 
knows that in case of need he can safely rely 
on German arms. Ithas not forgotten our help 
in the late struggle. Therefore, America is 
on the German side. Is it not right — nay, is 
it not a duty that we all should help ? 1 do 
call on you as German born. He who could 
forget father or mother, cannot be a good 
citizen. Let us not fear that America will 
mistake or misconstrue our action. We 
could not love our new country, our land of 



THE FKANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



41 



adoption, if we did forget our old country, the 
land of our birth. 

Let us help and act at the same time in 
accordance with the laws here. These laws 
do not forbid our sympathy, nor do they for- 
bid us to help the sick and wounded. Let us 
then be united and give what we can, and let 
us daily send to our brothers over the water 
the message : " Fight for Fatherland. The 
Germans of the whole world are with you." 

After several speeches from well-known 
gentlemen, the audience dispersed with loud 
cries of " vive la Prussia !" 

WHY THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA SYM- 
PATHIZE WITH PRUSSIA. 

While the French Emperor was doing all 
in his power to injure and humiliate the 
United states during the great war of the 
Eebellion, there were two hundred thousand 
German-born citizens fighting under the flag 
of the Union, and offering their lives for the 
liberties of America. These two facts, in 
themselves, go far to explain the sympathies 
of the American people with Germany in 
the present war. 

Many things are said and performed under 
the excitement of the moment by our Ger- 
man-American citizens, and afterward re- 
pented of. 

It was at least in bad taste to display a 
picture of the French Emperor suspended 
from a gibbet, at a meeting participated in 
by an American Senator, an American ex- 
General, and an American ex-Governor. The 
American people are not at war with the 
French Emperor. ■ Our more excitable citi- 
zens of German birth must not make any 
mistakes which will injure their own cause 
in America, 

The French Emperor should not meddle 
with other people's business. He interfered 
in Mexican affairs, and lost by it. He med- 
dled with American affairs to help Jeff. 
Davis, and suffered by it. He was humili- 
ated in his attempts at interfering with Ger- 
man affairs four years ago. In now meddling 
with Spanish and Prussian affairs, he may 
meet with the same kind of bad luck which 
he has previously suffered by this officious 
intermeddling. 

The war is not between France and Prus- 
sia. Neither is it between Napoleon and 
King William. It is a war between the peo- 
ple of Prussia and the Napoleonic dynasty, 
for the integrity of the Prussian nationality. 
In Prussia, the king counts for very little. 
He is old ; is soon to pass away, and to be 
succeeded by a liberal heir. He is now, ab- 
solutist and believer in his own divine right 
as he is, merely the representative of the 
demands of the German people for a com- 
plete nationality, and of the instinctive re- 
sentment which all Germans, whether Prus- 
sians, Bavarians, citizens of the smaller 
German states, or even Austrians, feel 
against the French aggression. Napoleon, 
on the other hand, is in no sense a repre- 
sentative of the French people. By skilful 



manipulations he may succeed in arousing 
popular pride and stimulating national re- 
sentments to such a pitch that France may 
ultimately support him ; but in the outset he 
was merely the persistent gambler he has 
always been — driven, however, into sore 
straits — and is playing, iu a desperate emer- 
gency, his last card. Whatever else may 
happen, it is impossible that the American 
people can sympathize with him. If the 
question were between him and King Wil- 
liam, they would sympathize with neither. 
As it is, cherishing no ill-will to the French, 
and earnestly wishing them the deliverance 
which is hkely to come from the present 
complications, the Americans, nevertheless, 
are likely to give the sympathies of their 
whole hearts to the cause of the Prussian 
people, with which is bound up so much of 
hope, progress, and the possibility of freedom 
and national growth, not merely for Prussia, 
but even for the true France of the future. 

It is given to man as his chiefest blessing 
to hope against hope, and we do not despair 
of the final deliverance of all nations from 
kingcraft. But we are warned by the results 
of all recent struggles not to expect it in our 
day. The Polish and Hungarian rebellions, 
the reconstruction of Italy and the last Span- 
ish revolution, as well sis the submission of 
France and Prussia to imperialism, are suffi- 
cient to prove that emancipation of the 
masses is yet far distant. Remembrance of 
these things ought to diminish the universal 
amazement that there is a war of succession 
in our time. 

ACTUAL OPERATIONS COMMENCED. 

About the 17th of July, 1870, skirmishing 
commenced between the advance guards 
along the frontier. Four killed and seven 
wounded on the Prussian side. The French 
loss was double these numbers. 

PROCLAMATION FROM NAPOLEON. 

Paris, July 23d, 1870. 
Frenchmen : There are in the life of a 
people solemn moments when the national 
honor, violently excited, presses itself irre- 
sistibly, rises above all other interests, and 
applies itself with the single purpose of 
directing the destinies of the nation. One 
of those decisive hours has now arrived for 
France. Prussia, to whom we have given 
evidence during and since the war of 1856, 
of the most conciliatory disposition, has held 
our good will of no account, and has returned 
our forbearance by encroachments. She 
has aroused distrust in all quarters necessi- 
tating exaggerated armaments, and has made 
of Europe a camp where reign disquiet and 
fear of the morrow. A final incident has 
disclosed the instability of the international 
understanding, and shown the gravity of the 
situation. In the presence of her new pre- 
tensions Prussia was made to understand 
our claims. They were evaded and followed 
with contemptuous treatment. Our country 



42 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



manifested profound displeasure at this action, 
and quickly a war cry resounded from one 
end of France to the other. 

There remains for us nothing but to con- 
fide our destinies to the chance of arms. We 
do not make war upon Germany, whose 
independence we respect. We pledge our- 
selves that the people composing the great 
Germanic nationality shall dispose freely of 
their destinies. As for us, we demand the 
establishment of a state of things guaran- 
teeing our security and assuring the future. 
We wish to conquer a durable peace, based 
on the true interests of the people, and to 
assist in abolishing that precarious condition 
of things when all nations are forced to 
employ their resources in arming against 
each other. 

The glorious flag of France, which we 
once more unfurl in the face of our challeng- 
ers, is the same which has borne over Europe 
the civilizing ideas of our great revolution. 
It represents the same principles ; it will in- 
spire the same devotion. 

Frenchmen : I go to place myself at the 
head of that gallant army, which is animated 
by love of country and devotion to duty. 
That army knows its worth, for it has seen 
victory follow its footsteps in the four 
quarters of the globe. I take with me my 
son. Despite his tender years he knows the 
duty his name imposes upon him, and he is 
proud to bear his part in the dangers of 
those who fight for our country. May God 
bless our efforts. A great people defending 
a just cause is invincible. 

Napoleon. 

IMPEACHMENT OF NAPOLEON III. 

The Paris Soir publishes from the pen of 
M. Edmond About, the following masterly 
review of Napoleon's official career, and 
statement of the sufferings he has entailed 
upon France : 

May I be mistaken ! But it seems to me 
that we are now beginning to pay very dearly 
our collective abdication in 1851 and I'852. 
A people may imagine itself in clover when 
it has relieved itself from the trouble of 
managing its own affairs, and when it has 
confided its destinies to the hands of a bold 
and able man. The Constitution leaves to 
this man the power of commanding the land 
and sea forces, declaring war and making 
treaties of peace and alliance. What an 
excellent pretext for humble individuals to 
spare themselves the trouble of thinking 
about public matters, and laying themselves 
out to make as much money as possible in 
their own private occupations. But let us 
suppose that the master elected by the 
people has more imagination than genius ; 
that he has the appetite of a conqueror with- 
out the firmness and the settled purpose 
necessary to success ; that he reckons too 
much upon his star, and expects from luck 
and the mistakes of others the results which 
he ought deliberately to prepare for himself. 
Let us suppose that he lives from hand to 



mouth, tempting fortune instead of making 
himself master of it. Always advancing, 
drawing back, and oscillating between the 
possible and the impossible, and what is 
more serious, between the just and the un- 
just; now a champion of Right, and to- 
morrow a champion of State necessity ; a 
Revolutionist or a Reactionist, just as it may 
happen, and ever ready to make a hash of 
his principles for the sake of expediency, it 
is not at all impossible that one fine day 
38,000,000 of men may rouse themselves, 
and express their dissatisfaction in a way 
not easily to be dealt with. Frenchmen, 
my good friends, only think of the great 
things which you have done by procuration 
within the last twenty years. On your 
behalf your governors have dreamed for you 
the conquest of the world, and universal 
monarchy, or at least the supremacy of 
Europe, with the extension of your frontiers. 
In 1849, when you were nominally Republi- 
cans, you violently put down the Roman 
Republic ; you fought in Italy for that 
Divine right which you have suppressed in 
Paris : you restored the Pope, who does not 
thank you, and pays you with all sorts of af- 
fronts. At Sebastopol you humiliated but did 
not weaken Russia : you sacrificed a hundred 
thousand men and spent a million of money, 
with no other result than to draw down upon 
you the hatred and rancor of a powerful 
nation. It is true that Turkey owes you a 
debt of gratitude for having postponed th6 
solution of the great Eastern problem ; but 
wretched Turkey would be of no use to you 
in case of war. In Lorabardy you weakened 
Austria, aggrandized Victor Emmanuel, and 
favored the fusion of small, harmless States 
with a great Power. And now you have 
been clever enough to alienate that Power 
which owes everything to you by keeping it 
out of its capital. After having grouped a 
real nation around the small King of Sar- 
dinia, you have forced that Rfegalantuomo to 
be your enemy. You have sought adventures 
in China and Mexico. The great American 
Republic was from its beginning the friend 
and ally of France. You constrained it to 
forget that it owed its existence to you. In 
the war of the Secession, when you should 
have sympathized with the cause of the 
North, you shut your ear to true principles. 
Your interests, as you understood them, led 
you to side with the South, but you had not 
the courage or the sincerity to act upon 
your opinion. You only gave to the Slavery 
party a hesitating and sterile support. The 
Union was restored in spite of you, and its 
first movement roas to make you, evacuate 
Mexico. In Germany you tried surreptiti- 
ously to weaken Austria by Prussia, and 
Prussia by Austria. Your diplomatists, who 
are supposed to be tlie pick and choice of 
human ability, warranted snccess. After a 
long and ruinous war the Austrians, your 
secret allies, who, you had calculated, would 
be the victors, were beaten, and the Prus 
sians, your enemies, became masters of Ger- 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



43 



many Prussia allied herself with Italy, 
and your only compensation is the alliance 
of Austria, who, thanks to you, is reduced to 
the last degree of im potency. Such, my 
dear French people, is the result of your 
campaigns and your negotiations. Peace 
and war have been almost equally fatal to 
you. And you may be very sure that, on 
the first opportunity, Prussia, Russia, Amer- 
ica, and Italy will be ready to combine to pay 
off old scores. This election of a King of 
Spain may be as good an excuse as any 
other. 

SAAEBKTJCK. 

THE ENGAGEMENT, JULY 31st, 1870. 

The engagement at Saarbruck, on Sunday, 
July 31st, was between a small detachment 
forming a Prussian outpost and three divis- 
ions of French infantry supporting 23 guns. 
The affair was of slight importance, and the 
loss trifling on each side. 

In spite of the apparent importance of 
maintaining railway connection at Saarbruck, 
the Prussians never seriously prepared to 
defend it, and their movements were inde- 
pendent of the Saarbruck line. Considerable 
bodies of troops entered Saarbruck at differ- 
ent times, but not as a garrison. The town 
itself is indefensible, unless the heights on the 
French side are occupied by a large force. 
In fact, those heights were only picketed by 
Prussians. 

The attack repulsed on Saturday, JulySOth, 
was a sufficient warning of the French inten- 
tions, but the Prussians took no further steps, 
even when the French subsequently occupied 
the woods. 

The Emperor, on his return to Metz after 
the battle, sent the following telegraphic 
dispatch to the Empress : 

" Louis has received his baptism of fire. 
He was admirably cool, and httle impressed. 
A division of Frossard's command carried 
the heights overlooking the Saar. The 
Prussians made a brief resistance. Louis 
and I were in front where the bullets fell 
about us. Louis keeps a ball he picked up. 
The soldiers wept at his tranquillity. We 
lost an officer and ten men. Napoleon." 

" Received his baptism of fire " and " the 
soldiers wept at his tranquiUity," are lines too 
good to be omitted in history, and will be 
laughed at in after years as they are at this 
time. The idea of a man like Napoleon III, 
who placed himselfupon the throne of France, 
first by promises of holding the freedom of 
that country at heart, and then held himself 
there by the aid of cut-throats ; and such a 
man asking God to aid him in maintaining a 
■cruel war against an upright and peace-loving 
people. This was the man who, standing in 
need of a target for his soldiers, ordered them 
to fire upon some of the peasantry who were 
passing at the time, and actually killed forty 
harmless men, women and children by his 
fiendish command. 

But how pleasant it is to turn from this 
cruel monarch, and contemplate the quiet 



and noble behavior of that man who has 
always thought of his God and people. Let 
the impartial read King William's proclama- 
tion, and they cannot but agree that further 
praise of that noble man is unnecessary : 

" AH Germany stands united against a 
neighboring State which has surprised us by- 
declaring war without justification. The 
safety of the Fatherland is threatened. Our 
honor and our hearths are at stake. To-day 
I assume command of the whole army. I 
advance cheerfully to a contest which in 
former times our fathers, under similar cir- 
cumstances, fought gloriously. The whole 
Fatherland and myself trust confidently in 
you. The Lord God will be with our righteous 
cause." 

The affair at Saarbruck was regarded as 
wholly unimportant. The Prussians at no time 
contemplated holding that town in force. , 

The Emperor wished to gain possession of 
Saarbruck, because it commands the valley 
of the Saar and the railway to Treves ; and 
as the town proved of no material advantage, 
the French were allowed to take it without 
any stout resistance being made. They 
afterwards found themselves in a position 
similar to the man who won the elephant in 
a lottery — " they could not keejp it." 

Following close upon this battle came the 
more important one of 

WEISSENBUEG. 

On Friday, August 5th, an official account 
of this battle was received at Berlin, dated 
Thursday, 4th : 

" We have won a brilliant biit bloody 
victory. The left wing was the attacking 
body, and consisted of the Fifth and Eleventh 
Prussian Corps, with the Second (Bavarian). 
This force carried by an assault, under the 
eyes of the Prince Royal, the fortress of 
Weissenburg and the heights between Weis- 
senburg and Geisburg. 

" Douay's division of Marshal MacMahon's 
corps was splendidly defeated, being driven 
from its camp. Gen. Douay himself was 
killed. Five hundred prisoners wei-e taken. 
None of them were wounded. Many Turcos 
were among the captured. The Prussiarv 
Gen. Kirchback was slightly wounded. The 
Royal Grenadiers and the 50th Regiment of 
the line suffered heavy losses." 

THE BATTLE OF WEISSENBUEG. 

" The French infantry in action at Weis- 
senburg and Geisburg belonged to the 1st 
Corps ; the cavalry to the 5th Corps. Except 
an attack undertaken to cover the retreat, 
the French stood on the defensive during the 
whole engagement. Most of the French 
troops in the engagement conducted them- 
selves with much spirit, and held their ground 
manfully. Only after retreat had become 
inevitable did they appear as if seized by a 
sudden panic. At this crisis troops of the 
Corps MacMahon, which had not yet been 
under fire, threw away their caps, knapsacks, 
tents, etc., and decamped, leaving even their 



44 



THE FRAT^CO-GERMAN WAR. 



provisions behind them. The Algerian troops 
exhibited the same temper as the French. 
There was no perceptible difference between 
them and their European comrades. 

" The infantry, whose battalions were not 
above 800 strong, opened fire at 1500 
paces. This makes hitting a mere matter of 
chan.ce, and has a tendency to demoralize a 
man in the use of his weapon. Our practice 
of forming company columns and outflanking 
the enemy's tirailleurs fully answered. The 
French cavalry, even if numerically equal to 
our own, invariably declined attack. Our 
artillery fired slower, but much more effect- 
ively, than the French. The mitrailleuse 
battery fired three rounds at a distance of 
1800 paces against our artillery, but did no 
damage. It was soon silenced by our guns." 

" I am now about to relate an incident," 
writes a friend of mine, from the battle field, 
" which will make a draft even upon your 
faith. Professor ; and that is, that one portion 
of our line retained all that day a position 
within about fifteen yards of the enemy's 
works. I am proud to say that T belonged 
to the brigade who so gallantly accomplished 
this feat. Col. Yawn commanded in person, 
and the conduct of our eight hundred (for 
of that number our brigade consisted) 
deserves mention ; and we claim, with an 
excusable conceit, that it was as splendid a 
'Stroke of heroism as ever lit up the story of 
' The glory we call Greece, and the grandeur 
we call Rome.' Through the live-long day 
our men held their line, within fifteen yards 
of the enemy, and all his force could not 
dislodge us. Repeatedly during the day the 
French formed double columns of attack, to 
come over the walls and assail us ; and the 
officers could be heard ehcouraging their 
troops by telling them ' that there are only 
two or three hundred of them.' But the 
moment the Frenchmen showed themselves 
above the parapets, a line of fire was opened 
on them from ' our eight hundred,' and many 
a ' Frenchy' fell prone under our swift aveng- 
ing bullets. 

" The sequel to this bit of history is as cu- 
rious as the deed itself — for while the French 
dared not venture out to assail Ool. Yawn's 
men, neither could he, nor his command, 
recede from their perilous position. He 
could not get back to us, and it seemed 
impossible for us to reach him. In this di- 
lemma the ingenious device was hit upon of 
running a ' sap,' or ziz-zag trench, up from 
our line to his. In this way a working party 
were able to dig their way up to where they 
lay, begrimed with powder, and worn down 
with fatigue. They were thus rescued from 
a situation at once disagreeable and dan- 
gerous. But Yawn, our gallant leader, he 
came not away alive. Since eleven o'clock 
in the morning he had lain behind the bul- 
warks his valor defended — a corpse. There 
were other scenes along those lines drawn so 
close up to the enemy equally as grave, 
but I'll venture to say that not one of 
our eight hundred but would gladly have 



changed places with our noble leader, if in 
his dying moments he could have known that 
Colonel Yawn, the gallant and brave Yawn I 
was still among the hving." 

Lay him down, for he is sleeping ; fold his blanket o'er his 

breast, 
In death's cold and silent slumber, let the soldier calmly 

rest; 
Wave our banner far above him, 'twas for it he nobly died, 
And 'tis well that ye should plant it, proudly waving by his 

side. 

'Twas for us he left his kindred, for our homes he fought 

and fell, 
And endured toils, hardships, sickness, that no one but him 

could tell; 
Now he rests, and all is over, and his spirit dwells above. 
Far above the din of battle, with our country's God he 

loved. 

And so ends my friend's letter. I know 
not whether the verses given are original 
with him, or whether he quotes at random, 
but to my idea they are very pretty, and let 
that be my excuse for placing them before 
the kind reader. 

And now we have the 

BATTLE OF WOERTH. 

" On the 5th of August reliable intelligence 
was received at the headquarters of the 3d 
Army that Marshal MacMahon was busily 
engaged in concentrating his troops on the 
hills west of Woerth, and that he was being 
reinforced by constant arrivals by railway. 
In consequence of these advices, it was re- 
solved to lose no time in effecting a change 
of front, which had been determined upon a 
few days previously, but not yet executed. 
The 2d Bavarian and the 5th Prussian Corps 
were to remain in their respective positions 
at Lembach and Prenschdorf ; the 11th Prus- 
sian Corps was to wheel to the right and en- 
camp at Holschloch, with van pushed forward 
towards the river Sauer ; and the 1st Prussian 
Corps was to advance into the neighborhood 
of Lobsann and Lampertsloch. The cavalry 
division remained at Schonenburg, fronting 
west. The Corps Werder (Wurtemburg and 
Baden divisions) marclied to Reimerswiller, 
with patrols facing the Haguenau forest. 

" The 5th Prussian Corps, on the evening 
of the 5th, pushed its van from its bivouac 
at Prenschdorf on to the height east of 
Woerth. On the other side of the Sauer, 
numerous camp fires of the enemy were visi- 
ble during the night, the French outposts 
occupying the heights west of the Sauer, 
opposite Woerth and Gunstett. At dawn of 
the 6th, skirmishes commenced along the line 
of the outposts, which caused the Prussian 
vanguard to send a battalion into Woerth. 
At 8 o'clock steady firing was heard on the 
right (Bavarian) flank. This and the fire the 
enemy directed against Woerth caused us to 
station the entire artillery of the 5th Prus- 
sian Corps on the heights east of this place 
and try to relieve the Bavarians. A little 
later the 5th Corps was ordered to break off 
the engagement, it being the intention of 
our generals to begin the battle against the 
concentrated forces of the enemy only when 
the change of front had been effected and the 



THE FRANCO-GERMAlsr WAR. 



45 



entire German army was ready to be brought 
into action. At 7.45 o'clock the 4th Division 
(Bothmer) of the 2d Bavarian Corps (Hart- 
mann), induced by the heavy fire of the out- 
posts near Woerth, had left their bivouac at 
Lembach, and, proceeding by Mattstall and 
Langen-Salzbach, after a sharp engagement 
penetrated as far as Neschwiller, where they 
spread, fronting to the south. At 10|- this 
Bavarian Corps, supposing the order to 
break off the engagement which had been 
given to the 5th Prussians to extend to 
themselves, withdrew to Langen-Salzbach. 
'J'he enemy, being thus no longer pressed on 
his left, turned all his strength with the 
greatest energy against the 5th Prussians at 
Woerth. Reinforcements were continually 
thrown in by rail. Finding the enemy in 
earnest on this point, and perceiving the 
11th Prussians to approach vigorously in the 
direction of Gunstett, the 5th Prussians im- 
mediately proceeded to the attack, so as to 
defeat the enemy if possible before he had 
time to concentrate. The 20th Brigade was 
the first to defile through Woerth, and 
marched towards Elsasshausen and Frosch- 
willer ; it was promptly followed by the 19th 
Brigade. The French stood their ground 
with the utmost pertinacity, and their fire 
was crushing. Whatever the gallantry of 
our 10th Division, it did not succeed in over- 
coming the obstinate resistance of the enemy, 
Eventually, the 9th Division being drawn 
into the fight, the whole 5th Corps found 
itself involved in the sanguinary conflict 
raging along the heights west of Woerth. 

"At I5 P. M., orders were given to the 1st 
Bavarian Corps (Von der Tann) to leave one 
of its two divisions where it stood, and, send- 
ing on the other as qiiick as possible by Lob- 
sann and Lampertsloch, seize upon the 
enemy's front in the gap between the 2d 
Bavarian Corps at Langen-Salzbach and the 
5th Prussian Corps at Woerth. The 11th 
Prussians were ordered to advance to El- 
sasshausen, skirt the forest of Niederwald, 
and operate against Froschwiller. The 
Wurtemburg Division was to proceed to 
Gunstett, and follow the 11th Prussians 
across the Sauer ; the Baden Division was to 
remain at Sauerburg. 

"At 2 o'clock the combat had extended 
along the entire line. It was a severe strug- 
gle. The 5th Prussians fought at Woerth, 
the 11th Prussians near Elsasshausen. In 
' his strong position on and near the heights 
.of Froschwiller, the enemy offered us a most 
intense resistance. The 1st Bavarian Corps 
reached Gorsdorff, but could not lay hold of 
the enemy fast enough; the 2d Bavarian had 
to exchange the exhausted troops of the Di- 
vision Bothmer, who had spent their ammu- 
nition in the fierce fights of the morning, for 
the Division Walther. While the Division 
Bothmer fell back, the Brigade Scleich of the 
Division Walther marched upon Langen- 
Salzbach. The Wurtemburg Division ap- 
proached Gunstett. 

"At 2 o'clock fresh orders were given. 



The Wurtemburg Division was to turn 
towards Reichshofen by way of Ebersbach, 
to threaten the enemy's line of retreat. The 
1st Bavarian was to attack at once and dis- 
lodge the enemy from his position at Frosch- 
willer and in the neighboring vineyards. 
Between 2 and 3 o'clock the enemy, bringing 
fresh troops into the field, and advancing 
with consummate bravery, assumed the of- 
fensive against the 5th and 11th Prussian 
Corps. But all his assaults were beaten off. 
Thus the fight was briskly going on at 
Woerth, neither party making much pro- 
gress, till at length the brilliant attack of 
the 1st Bavarian Corps at Gorsdorff, and of 
the 1st Wurtemburg Brigade on the ex- 
treme left at Ebersbach, decided the fate of 
the day. 

" Towards the close of the battle the 
French attempted a grand cavalry charge 
against the 5th and 11th Corps, especially 
against the artillery of these troops. Our 
artillery awaited them in a stationery posi- 
tion, and repulsed them with severe loss. 
The infantry did so likewise. This last ex- 
periment having failed, the enemy, at 4 
o'clock, evacuated Froschwiller, and re- 
treated through the mountain passes in the 
direction of Bitche. The cavalry of all our 
divisions were despatched in pursuit. 

" The cavalry division which, on account 
of the difficult ground, which allowed little 
scope for its manoeuvres, had been left at 
Schonberg, was ordered, at 3| o'clock to 
advance to Gunstett. On the morning of the 
7th this cavalry corps began the pursuit in 
the direction of Ingweiler and Bronstweiler. 
All the troops who had taken part in the en- 
gagement bivouacked on the battle-field, the 
cavalry at Gunstett, the Baden Division at 
Sauerburg. 

" Our losses are great. The enemy lost 
5,000 unwounded prisoners, thirty guns, six 
mitrailleuses, and two eagles. The enemy's 
troops arrayed against us were General Mac- 
Mahon's army, and the 2d and 3d Divisions 
of the 6th Corps." 

SAARBKUCK BETAKEN. 

The town of Saarbruck was retaken by the 
First Prussian Army Corps, under command 
of General Steinmetz, on the afternoon of 
August 6th, 1870. 

THE PETJSSIAN PIONEERS. 

HOW THEIR EECONNOITEING PARTIES ARE COMPOSED. 

The French attribute their want of success 
to the splendid manner in which the Prus- 
sians reconnoitre with the uhlans, and the 
completeness of their spy system, which 
keeps them perfectly acquainted with every 
stir made by their antagonists. 

On the subject of the Prussian eclaireurs, 
I append the following well-written account 
of the manner in which they go to work. The 
writer begins by saying : 

The qualities inherent in French nature 
are impetuosity, dash, and courage, but these 



46 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



characteristics, which Europe does not hesi- 
tate to proclaim, often carry in their wake a 
certain inattention. The quaUties, on the 
other hand, peculiar to the German character, 
are reflection, prudence, and method. These 
sometimes produce slowness of attack, but 
they leave nothing to chance. From this 
aggregate of qualities and defects it results 
that the Prussian army is admirably well 
informed, and the French are scarcely so at 
all. Was anything known of the enormous 
forces which Prince Frederick Charles and 
the Crown Prince had accumulated on the 
Saar, and who bore down the two corps of 
General Frossard and Marshal MacMahon? 
The Prussians understand and practice using 
scouts in a campaign. The general who is 
confronted by a corps which he is to watch 
and fight chooses a clever and determined 
officer. A small troop is confided to him of 
from fifteen to twenty select horsemen, uhlans, 
or hussars. The officer, in his turn, takes into 
the band some soldiers of the landwehr, both 
upon the very frontier of the country which 
he is to reconnoitre, and which his business, 
his relations, and his habits allured him to 
visit in every sense. This man, who has a 
mission of confidence and honor, advances to 
the front, musket in hand, eye watchful, and 
ear attentive. He has been told what point 
is to be reached, which spot is marked in 
pencil on an excellent map, which the officer 
carries about him. The place which is to be 
reconnoitred is often twenty to thirty kilo- 
metres distant from the Prussian lines, in the 
very centre of the enemy's territory. Behind 
the first horseman, who has orders to advance 
very slowly, following hollows, dells, and 
sometimes the highway, sometimes also push- 
ing forward across the fields, two other riders 
come at two hundred paces off. Further 
away, at the same distance from them, comes 
the officer, followed by eight or ten horse- 
men, charged to protect him, if necessary. 
Two other riders are further away, whom a 
last soldier is following at two hundred paces. 
This column, moving on silently, occupies 
the space of a kilometre. If the horseman 
who leads is surprised, a shot gives alarm to 
the rest of the band, and the riders ahead and 
behind have orders to depart at full gallop, 
and to follow any direction that is safest. The 
officer alone and his escort go on ahead to 
reconnoitre with whom they have to do, and 
to see what is passing, after which they all 
leave at full speed. Even in case of ambush, 
it is almost impossible that two or three 
riders should not be able to return safely to 
headquarters, and the Prussians then know 
at once what force they have before them, 
and on what point it is posted. 

King William sent the following dispatch 
to the Queen : 

" Good news. A great victory has been 
won by our Fritz. God be praised for his 
mercy. We captured 4,000 prisoners, thirty 
guns, two standards, apd six mitrailleuses. 
MacMahon, during the fight, was heavily re- 
enforced from the main army. The contest 



was very severe, and lasted from eleven in 
the morning until nine at night, when the 
French retreated, leaving the field to us. 
Our losses were heavy," 

On Saturday, August 6, the French were 
turned back on their entire line, and com- 
menced to retreat toward the interior of 
France. The French had commenced an 
advance from Saarbruck, which they had held 
since the famous battle of three divisions 
against three companies of Prussians, bat 
having to fall back they burned that rich and 
unprotected town, and in withdrawing spread 
conflagration by throwing hot shot into it. 

The heads of the Prussian columns ap- 
proached the Saar on the 5th. Gen. Kamers 
found the enemy to the west of Saarbruck in 
strong position in the mountains near Spieh- 
ren, and immediately attacked him. Follow- 
ing the sound of the cannon portions of the 
divisions of Barnakow and Stupnagel came 
up. Gen. Goeben took command, and after 
a very severe fight, the position occupied by- 
Gen. Frossard was taken by assault. Gen. 
Francois and Col. Reuter are among the 
wounded. Gen. Francois died the next day. 

After the battle of Saarbruck, a Westpha- 
lian, going about to help the wounded, came 
upon a soldier of the Prussian infantry, who 
had been shot through the body, and was 
leaning heavily against a wall. " Will you 
drink, comrade ?" asked the Westphalian. 
Pale and faint, the poor fellow shook his 
head, and feebly indicated that he would like 
his lips to be moistened. When this had 
been done, he asked in a whisper whether the 
Westphalian could write. The latter at once 
took out his pocket-book, when the dying- 
man, " with brightening eye," dictated the 
words, " Dear mother, farewell," adding the 
address. At this moment the Westphalian 
was called by a second wounded man. When 
he returned he found that his first friend had 
fallen back and died. 

An extract from another letter, which I 
received lately : — (Ed.) 

" The glory of war has a different aspect 
when we view it in the dun light of a hospi- 
tal ward, with hundreds of our fellow-crea- 
tures witji bleeding and shattered limbs 
about us, and the winged Victory should be 
painted with crimson wings — wings dyed red 
with human gore. The loss of blood from 
some of the patients was simply enormous, 
and the six miles' journey from the field of 
battle must have been very trying to the 
poor fellows, who bore their pain with won- 
derful fortitude and patience, the less seri- 
ously wounded assisting in undressing, and 
in otherwise helping their more unfortunate 
brethren. Occasionally you hear a cry of 
' Mon Dieu ! Mon Dieu !' and one poor 
fellow, with a ball right through his lungs, 
is gurgling out an anguished gasp for the 
absent doctor. Poor fellow I I fear the only 
doctor who can do him any good is that 
grand curer of all evils, Dr. Death. 

" We turn to the right and are soon on 
the crown of the hill, and here, O God ! what 




H 




P5 




W 


4-1 


P 


li 


O 


U3 


^ 




<f 


^ 


G' 






te» 







pi 




THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



49 



a sickening sight awaits «s. There, in front, 
is a clean even line of dead Frenchmen, three 
deep, laid out with military regularity. As 
they stood in line so they fell, almost all 
Bhot through the head. Most of them have 
fallen forward on their faces, their arms ex- 
tended, some with their fingers on the trigger 
they never had time to pull. Some few have 
reeled backwards, and there is a smashed 
and battered face turned towards heaven. 

" There is another there whose face is half 
«hot away. Surely it must be fancy — but 
no, it moves, and then it flashes to our mind 
that there may still be some living here, and 
we have a duty to do in which a nentral may 
engage, and we go up to him. Yes, poor 
fellow, he still lives, though it would almost, 
it seems, be the greater mercy to end that 
life of pain at once than attempt to save the 
battered remains of life he, should he live, 
will have to carry about with him. But as 
he lives something must be done. The ques- 
tion is, what ? Not a French soldier is near, 
not a French doctor, not one of that multi- 
tudinous and polyglot assemblage who sport 
their white ' Drassards ' with so much com- 
placency in Metz. There is no help for it 
Ijut to go right up to the Prussians there, 
and ask in God's name for their help for a 
wounded enemy. 'J'his is done, and with 
truest noble-heartedness a party of their own 
men and a cart are sent off with us for any 
wounded men we may find. Here and there 
■we pick up another still breathing soldier, and 
consign him to the kindly hands of those 
who a few hours ago were just as anxious to 
kill him as they are willing now to save. 
1'his is the scene of the hottest part of the 
fight, and the dead lie thickly around. 
Scarcely, however, do we see a Prussian. 
They have already removed them, and their 
wounded have been cared for some hours 
ago. 

"There lies a Chasseur de Yincennes. 
Surely he must be living, his color is so good ; 
nor can he be deeply wounded. Why, then, 
is he so still ? Hearing French voices near 
him he looks up, pretending to awake out 
of sleep. For about sixteen hours he has 
lain there in mortal funk — no other word 
will do — and the wretched coward appeals to 
Tis to deliver him from the hands of the 
Prussians. I am sorely tempted to call them 
up and give the wretched animal into their 
custody ; but then they woiild have to keep 
him, and he certainly is not worth his keep, 
so the counsels of my French friend prevail, 
and we pick the creature up. He is so stiff 
from his seeming death that he can scarcely 
stand. We call a couple of peasants, and he 
leans on them as though seriously wounded; 
and thus we lead him away. 

" A well-to-do-looking farmer stops us and 
tells us there are some wounded up by the 
wood yonder ; so across the fields we go, and 
here we find a heap of dead, and amongst 
them three poor soldiers, who have lain there 
since about 3 o'clock yesterday, unable to 
move, without a particle of food, or, above 
4 



all, without a drop of water. One of us goes 
back to Borny to seek some help, whilst the 
other stays and tries to give some relief to 
the cramped and stiffened limbs, or at any 
rate a few kindly words of hope and encour- 
agement. An hour's waiting brings a long 
country cart, with plenty of straw in it, and 
we lifted the poor fellows into the shaky 
vehicle, and jolt them over the fields as 
gently as possible, yet still with horrible 
agony to their crushed and bleeding limbs. 
At last we reach, the road, and progress is 
somewhat easier, passing on our way we 
see another poor fellow whom it would be 
dangerous to lift into such a cart as ours. 
He needs those beautiful stretchers which 
are so scientifically constructed, but which 
are all where the doctors are, in Metz, doing 
nothing. Nor can we do anything for him 
now, poor fellow. He would probably die 
on the road, and meanwhile would cause an 
increased agony to those we are already 
transporting. All we can do is to build a 
bower of branches to keep off the blazing sun, 
and send word when we get to Metz to have 
him brought in if he should live that long." 

THE BATTLE OF FOEBACH. 

The ofiBcial account of the action at Forbach 
is as follows : 

" On the forenoon of August 6, the Tth 
Corps d'Armee pushed its vanguard to 
Herchenbach, 1^ German miles northwest 
of Saarbruck, with outposts stretching as far 
as the river Saar. The preceding night the 
enemy had evacuated its position on the 
drilling-ground of Saarbruck. 

" Toward noon the Cavalry Division under 
General Rheinhaben passed through the town. 
Two squadrons formed the van. The moment 
they reached the highest point of the drilling- 
ground, and became visible to spectators on 
the south, they were fired at from the hills 
near Spicheren. 

" The drilling-groimd ridge overhangs a 
deep valley stretching towards Forbach and 
Spicheren, and bordered on the other side by 
the steep and partly wooded height named 
after the latter village. These hills, rising in 
almost perpendicular ascent several hundred 
feet above the valley, form a natural fortress, 
which needed no addition from art to be all 
but impregnable. Like so many bastions, 
the mountains project into the valley, facing 
it on all sides, and affording the strongest 
imaginable position for defence. French 
ofBcers who were taken prisoners on'this spot 
confess to having smiled at the idea of the 
Prussians attacking them in this stronghold. 
There was not a man in the 2d French Corps 
who was not persuaded in his own mind that 
to attempt the Spicheren hills must lead to 
the utter annihilation of the besiegers. 

" Between 12 and 1 the 14th Division 
arrived at Saarbruck. Immediately proceed- 
ing south, it encountered a strong force of 
the enemy in the valley between Saarbruck 
and Spicheren, and opened fire forthwith. 
Upon this General Frossard, who was in the 



50 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



act of withdrawiug a portion of his troops 
when the Prussians arrived, turned round 
and reoccupied the Spicheren hills with his 
entire force. A division of the 3d Corps, 
under General Bazaine, came up in time to 
support him. 

"The 14th Division at first had to deal 
with far superior numbers. To limit the 
attack to the enemy's front would have been 
useless. General von Kamecke, therefore, 
while engaging the front, also attempted to 
turn the left flank of the enemy by Stiring ; 
but the five battalions he could spare for this 
operation were too weak to make an impres- 
sion upon the much stronger numbers of the 
French. Two successive attacks on his left 
were repulsed by General Frossard. Toward 
3 o'clock, when all the troops of the division 
were under fire, the engagement assumed a 
very sharp and serious aspect. 

" Eventually, however, the roar of the 
cannon attracted several other Prussian 
detachments. The division under General 
von Barkenow was the first to be drawn to 
the spot. Two of its batteries came dashing 
up at full speed to relieve their struggling 
comrades. They were promptly followed by 
the 40th Infantry, under Colonel Eex, and 
three squadrons of the 9th Hussars. At this 
moment the vanguard of the 5th Division 
was espied on the Winterberg Hill. General 
Stulpnagel, whose van had been stationed at 
Sultzbach the same morning, had been 
ordered by General von Alvensleben to 
march his entire division in the direction 
from which the sound of cannon proceeded. 
Two batteries advanced in a forced march on 
the high road. The infantry were partly 
sent by rail from Nuenkirchen to Saarbruck. 

" At about 3.30 o'clock the Division Kam- 
ecke had been sufiiciently reinforced to enable 
General von Goeben, who had arrived in the 
meantime and assumed the command, to 
make a vigorous onslaught on the enemy's 
front. The chief aim of the attack was the 
wooded portion of the declivity. The 40th 
Infantry, supported on its right by troops of 
the 14th Division, and on its left by four 
battalions of the 5th Division, made the 
assault. A reserve was formed of some 
battalions of the 5th and 16th Divisions, as 
they came up. 

" The charge was a success. The wood was 
occupied, the enemy expelled. Penetrating 
further, always on the ascent, the troops 
pushed the French before them as far as the 
soxithern outskirts of the wood. Here the 
French made a stand, and, combining the 
three arms of the service for a united attack, 
endeavored to retrieve the day. But our 
infantry were not to be shaken. At this 
juncture the artillery of the 5th Division 
accomplished a rare and most daring feat. 
Two batteries literally clambered up the hill 
of Spicheren by a narrow and precipitous 
mountain path. With their help a fresh 
attack of the enemy was repulsed. A flank 
attack directed against our left from Aislin- 
gen and Spicheren was warded off^ in time 



by battalions of the 5th Division stationed m 
reserve. 

" The fighting, which for hours had been 
conducted with the utmost obstinacy on both 
sides, now reached its climax. Once more 
the enemy, superior still in numbers, rallied 
his entire forces for a grand and impetuous 
charge. It was his third attack after we had 
occupied the wood. But, like the preceding 
ones, this last effort was shortened by the 
imperturbable calmness of our infantry and 
artillery. Like waves dashing and breaking 
against a rock, the enemy's battahons were 
scattered by our gallant troops. After this 
last failure the enemy beat a rapid retreat ; 
fifty-two French battalions, with the artil- 
lery of an entire corps, stationed in an al- 
most unassailable position, had thus been 
defeated by twenty-seven Prussian battal- 
ions, supported by but the artillery of one 
division. It was a brilliant victory, indeed. 
We had everything against us — numbers, 
guns, and the nature of the locality ; yet we 
prevailed. 

" Darkness fast setting in aff'orded its valu- 
able aid to the enemy in eff"ecting his re- 
treat. To cover this backward movement, 
the French artillery were stationed on the 
hills skirting the battle-field on the south, 
where they kept up a continuous but harm- 
less fire for a considerable time. 

" The ground was too difficult for the cav- 
alry to take any part in the action. Never- 
theless, the fruits of the victory were very 
remarkable. The corpS under General Fros- 
sard, being entirely demoralized, dispersed. 
The road it took in its hasty flight was 
marked by numerous wagons with pro- 
visions and clothing ; the woods were filled 
with hosts of stragglers, wandering about in 
a purposeless way, and large stores and 
quantities of goods of every description fell 
into our hands. 

" While the battle was raging at Spicheren 
Hill, the 13th Division crossed the Saar at 
Werden, occupied Forbach, seized vast mag- 
azines of food and clothing, and thus forced 
General Frossard, whose retreat was covered 
by two divisions of General Bazaine, which 
had come up for the purpose, to withdraw 
to the southwest and leave free the road to 
St. Avoid. 

"The losses were very serious on both 
sides. The 5th Division alone has 230 dead, 
and about 1,800 wounded. The 12th Infan- 
try has 32 officers and 800 men dead or 
wounded ; next to this the 40th, 8th, 48th, 
39th, and 74th have suffered most. "J'he bat- 
teries, too, have encountered terrible loss. 
The number of killed and wounded on the 
enemy's side was at least equal to our own. 
The unwonnded prisoners in our hands al- 
ready exceed 2,000, and were increasing 
hourly. We have also captured forty pon- 
toons, and the tents of the camp." 

THE BATTLES ABOUND METZ. 

Meanwhile the valley of the Moselle had 
become the scene of stirring events. The 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



51 



Prussian right, as already stated, had followed 
the retreating French under Frossard after 
the battle of Forbach until they were close 
upon the Moselle, in which threatening 
position they awaited the arrival of the 
Prussian centre, under Prince Frederick 
Charles. The latter, striking the Moselle 
near Pont-a-Mousson, crossed that stream on 
Sunday, August 14, with the object of turn- 
ing the French right, and cutting off com- 
munications with MacMahon, who had", as 
already stated, abandoned Nancy on the 13th 
and hastened westward towards Chalons, 
closely followed by the Prussian left under 
the Crown Prince. 

The abandonment of the line of the Moselle 
was the first thing determined upon by Ba- 
zaine after his increased authority under the 
Palikao administration. On Sunday, August 
14, he began the movement of his army 
across the Moselle, in the immediate vicinity 
of Metz, where he had collected it on the 
12th. Before he had accomplished his 
purpose, however, the 1st and 7th Prussian 
Corps of General von Steinmetz's command 
fell upon his rear, and a serious engagement 
ensued, at the end of which the entire French 
army had svicceeded in effecting the passage 
of the stream. But, while the Prussians 
suffered a loss quite out of proportion to that 
inflicted on the French, the westward move- 
ment of the latter was materially delayed, 
and the first object of the Prussians practi- 
cally accomplished. 

On Monday, the 15th, the army of General 
von Steinmetz having crossed tlie Moselle, 
the hostile forces were engaged principally 
in manoeuvring for position ; but there 
appears to have been two distinct and deter- 
mined engagements, and on the following 
day, the 16th, there was a protracted and 
bloody contest.. The fighting was continued 
on the 17th, and the struggle for the posses- 
sion of the roads from Metz to Yerdun 
culminated on the 18th, in the great battle 
of Gravelotte. By this time the original 
positions of the hostile armies were reversed, 
the Prussians facing east and the French 
west. The final struggle lasted from 10 
o'clock in the morning until 9 in the evening. 
It was the battle of Sadowa, fought over 
again. At the opening, the junction between 
Prince Frederick Charles and General von 
Steinmetz had not been effected. The French 
were between two fires, but that of Von 
Steinmetz did not .become effective until 
evening, when he swept down from the north- 
east, and, turning the right flank of the 
enemy, decided the fortunes of the field. 
Bazaine was thrown back on Metz, his com- 
munications with Paris were cut off, and the 
Crown Prince was left at Hberty to pursue 
liis advance towards the capital, without the 
danger of encountering any opposition other 
than could be presented by MacMahon's 
demoralized force and the new levies that 
were being gathered at Chalons. 



THE BATTLE OF GEAVELOTTE. 

One of the most important battles of the 
war in France was that which took place 
near Metz, on Thursday, the 18th of August, 
between the forces under command of Mar- 
shal Bazaine and the armies of the Prince 
Royal of Prussia and General Steinmetz, the 
result of which was the penning up of the 
French within the fortifications of that 
stronghold. From the hill the entire sweep 
of the Prussian and French centre could be 
seen, and a considerable part of their wings, 
and where, at the time, were the headquarters 
of the King. The great representative men 
of Prussia, soldiers and statesmen, were 
standing on the ground watching the conflict 
just begun. Among them were the King, 
Bismarck, General von Moltke, Prince Fred- 
erick Charles, Prince Carl, Prince Adalbert, 
and Adjutant Kranski. Lieutenant-General 
Sheridan, of the United States army, was 
also present. At the moment the French 
were making a most desperate effort to hold 
on to the last bit of the Verdun road— that 
between Rezonville and Gravelotte, or that 
part of Gravelotte which in some maps is 
called St. Marcel. The striiggle was desperate 
but unavailing, for every one man in the 
French army had two to cope with, and their 
line was already beginning to waver. Soon 
it was plain that this wing, the French right, 
was withdrawing to a new position. This 
was swiftly taken up under cover of a con- 
tinuous fire of their artillery from the heights 
beyond the village. The movement was 
made in good order, and the position, which 
was reached at one o'clock and thirty minutes, 
would have been pronounced impregnable by 
nine out of ten military men. When once 
this movement had been effected, the French 
retreating from the pressure of the Prussian 
artillery "fire, and the Prussians as rapidly 
advancing, the battle-field was no longer 
about Rezonville, but had been transferred 
and pushed forward to Gravelotte, the junc- 
tion of the two branching roads to Verdun. 
The fields in front of that village were com- 
pletely covered by the Prussian reserves, and 
interminable lines of soldiers were steadily 
marching onward, disappearing into the 
village, and emerging on the other side of it 
with flaming volleys. 

This second battle-field was less extensive 
than the first, and brought the opposing 
forces into fearfully close quarters. The pe- 
culiarity of it is that it consists of two heights 
intersected by a deep ravine. This woody 
ravine is over 100 feet deep, and at the top 
some 300 yards wide. The side of the chasm 
next to Gravelotte, where the Prussians 
stood, is much lower than the other side, 
which gradually ascends to a great height. 
From their commanding eminence the French 
held their enemies fairly beneath them, and 
poured upon them scorching fire. The 
French stood their ground and died — the 
Prussians stood their ground and died — both 
by hundreds, I had almost said thousands. 



52 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



This, for an hour or two that seemed ages, 
so constant was the slaughter. The hill 
where I stood .commanded chiefly the con- 
flict behind the village and to the south of it. 
The Prussian reinforcements, coming up on 
their right, filed out of the Bois des Ognons ; 
and it was at that point, as they marched on 
to the field, that one could perhaps get the 
best idea of the magnitude of this invading 
army now in the heart of France. There was 
no break whatever for four hours in the 
march of men out of that wood. Birnam 
Wood advancing to Dunsinane Hill was not 
a more ominous sight to Macbeth than these 
men of General Goeben's army to Bazaine, 
shielded as they were by the woods till they 
were fairly within range and reach of their en- 
emy's guns. So the French must have felt; for 
between 4 and 5 o'clock they concentrated 
upon that spot their heaviest fire, massing all 
available guns, and shelling the woods unre- 
mittingly. Their fire reached the Prussian 
lines and tore through them ; and, though the 
men were steady, it was a test to which no 
General cares to subject his troops long. 
Once out from under the trees the Prussians 
advanced at double-quick. 'J'he French guns 
had not lost the range of the wood, nor of 
the ground in front. Seen at a distance, 
through a powerful glass, the brigade was a 
huge serpent bending with the undulation 
of the field. But it left a dark track behind 
it, and the glass resolved the dark track into 
falling and dying and dead men. Many of 
those who had fallen leaped up again and 
ran forward a little way, striving still to go 
on with their comrades. Of those who went 
backward instead of forward there were few, 
though many fell as they painfully endeav- 
ored to follow the advance. 

Now and then the thick cloud which hung 
over the battle-field would open a little and 
drift away on the wind, and then the French 
could be seen, sorely tried. To get a better 
view of this part of the field, the correspon- 
dent went forward about half a mile, and 
from this new stand-point found himself not 
far from Malmaison. The French hne on 
the hills was still unbroken, and, to all ap- 
pearances, they were having the best of the 
battle. Bvit this appearance was due, per- 
haps, to the fact that the French were more 
clearly visible on their broad height, and 
fighting with such singular obstinacy. They 
' plainly silenced a Prussian battery now and 
then. But the Prussian line also was strength- 
ened by degrees on this northern point. In- 
fantry and artillery were brought up ; and 
from far in the rear — away, seemingly, in 
the direction of Verneville — shot and shell 
began reaching the French ranks. These 
Avere the men and these were the guns of 
Steinraetz, who there and then eff'ected his 
junction with the army of Prince Frederick 
Charles, and completed the investment of 
Metz to the northwest. 

Steinraetz was able to extend his line 
trradually fiirther and further, until the 
French were outflanked and bes:an to be 



threatened, as it appeared, with an attack on 
the rear of their extreme right wing. So 
long as the smoke from the Prussian guns 
hovered only over their front, the French 
clung to their position. The distance from 
headquarters to where the Prussian flank 
attack stretched forward was great ; and, to 
add to the difficulty of clearly seeing the 
battle, the darkness was coming on. The 
puff's of smoke from the French guns mingled 
with the flashes, brightening as the darkness 
increased, receded gradually. The pillars of 
cloud and flame from the north as gradually 
and steadily approached. With that ad- 
vance the French fire every moment grew 
more slack. It was not far from nine o'clock 
when the ground was yielded finally on the 
north, and the last shots fired on that ter- 
rible evening were heard in that direction. 

So the battle raged with fluctuating suc- 
cess, until about half-past eight or nine in 
the evening, when the decisive blow was 
struck. When the battle of Gravel otte had 
actually ended, it was known that the Prus- 
sians held the strong heights beyond the 
Bois de Vaux, which command the surround- 
ing country to the limits of artillery range 
from Metz ; that two great Prussian armies 
lay across the only road by which Bazaine 
could march to Paris for its relief, or for his 
own escape ; that a victory greater than that 
of Sunday, and more decisive than the tri- 
umph of Tuesday, had been won ; and that, 
m all probability, the French army, which 
had fought as valiantly and as vainly as 
before, was now hopelessly shut up in the 
fortress. 

PARIS IN PEEIL. 

From first to last the engagements around 
Metz were claimed by the French as victo- 
ries, but the only foundation for this claim 
consisted in the alleged fact that the Prus- 
sians lost the greater number of men in 
killed and wounded, the truth of which it is 
impossible, even at this late day, to ascer- 
tain. The attempt of Bazaine to transfer 
his army from the neighborhood of Metz, 
however, was certainly foiled ; and while a ' 
portion of the united armies of Prince Fred- 
erick Charles and General von Steinmetz 
was .detached to watch the French, the re- 
mainder were pushed forward towards the 
still advancing army of the Crown Prince. 

By the time that General Trochu assumed 
command of Paris, the capital was fairly per- 
suaded that a siege was inevitable, and every 
nerve was strained to prepare a determined 
and desperate reception for the enemy, in 
case they should advance to the gates of the 
capital. . As already stated, this contingency 
appeared imminent, for parties of Prussian 
cavalry approached to within forty or fifty 
miles of Paris, and at one time the eastern 
terminus of the railroad to Chalons and 
Rheims was fixed at Chateau-Thierry, but 
45 miles from the capital and only hijlf the 
distance to Chalons. (Tcneral Trochu as- 
sumed the command of Paris in a proclama- 



THE FRANCO- GERMAN WAR 



53 



tion issued on August 18th, and the prepara- 
tions for defence were steadily pressed for- 
ward. Laborers by the thousands swarmed 
upon the fortifications ; 3000 cannon, accord- 
ing to tlie French reports, were mounted 
upon the walls and exterior forts, manned 
by 15,000 well-trained cannoniers, taken for 
the most part from the navy ; a motley army 
of 200,000 men, in which the regular element 
numbered scarcely 20,000, was assembled in 
and around the city ; portions of tlie Bois de 
Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes were de- 
stroyed, to give the artillery an unimpeded 
command of the approaches, a large number 
of houses in proximity to the fortifications 
being demolished for the same purpose ; im- 
mense quantities of provisions were stored 
in the city, and hordes of beeves, sheep and 
swine collected; the countrjr in front of the 
advancing Prussians was ordered to be laid 
waste, and the bridges over the streams to 
be destroyed on their approach. 

The general management of these prepara- 
tions was entrusted to a Committee of De- 
fence, on which were General Trochu, Mar- 
shal Vaillana, Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, 
Minister Jerome David. On the 23d of Au- 
gust, the members of the party of the Left 
demanded that nine deputies be added to this 
committee. The Ministry at first resisted 
this demand, but on the 26th Count Napo- 
leon Daru, who had preceded the Duke de 
Cramont as Minister of Foreign Affairs 
under M. Ollivier, and two Senators were 
added, and on the 27th it was still further 
strengthened by the name of the veteran 
Orleanist M. Thiers, to the general satisfac- 
tion of people of all parties. 

MacMAHON'S EFFORT TO KESCUE BAZAINE. 

Paris being thus occupied in preparations 
to take care of herself, MacMahon halted in 
his retreat at Chalons, and made a venture 
from that point towards Meziferes, with the 
intention of effecting a junction with Bazaine. 
The camp at Chalons was broken up on the 
22d of August, and burned on the 25th, a 
portion of the new levies departing for the 
front with MacMahon, while the Garde Mo- 
bile of Paris, in which signs of insubordina- 
tion were manifest, were marched back to the 
capital immediately after the departure of 
Trochu. The army of MacMahon had been 
spread out iYi front of Chalons and Rheims 
for some days, but was finally concentrated 
in a general movement towards the northeast, 
the headquarters reaching Rethel, midway 
between Rheims and Meziferes, on August 25. 

While these movements were under way 
to the west of the Meuse, Bazaine himself 
was repeatedly reported as having broken 
through the Prussian lines around Metz, and 
succeeded in reopening his communications 
with MacMahon and Paris. A small portion 
of his army, which had been cut off from the 
mairt body during the prolonged series of en- 
- gagements around Metz. apparently suc- 
ceeded in accomplishing this object, but the 



escaping force was an inconsiderable one, if 
it had any existence at all, and Bazaine re- 
mained shut up under the guns of Metz until 
the final blow fell upon MacMahon at Sedan. 
From the morning of August 31st until noon 
on the following day, Bazaine appears to 
have made a last desperate attempt at pierc- 
ing the Prussian lines, but a portion of 
Prince Frederick Charles' army, under Gen. 
Von Manteuffel, successfully resisted the at- 
tempt, and he was again hurled back upon 
the fortress of Metz, the engagement, which 
was severe as well as protracted, being styled 
the battle of Noiseville. 

The French army has been out-generalled 
and out-fought. At the beginning of the 
campaign all the conditions were in the Em- 
peror's favor ; but Von Moltke beat him in 
manoeuvring as Von Steinmetz beat Fros- 
sard, and the Crown Prince decidedly beat 
MacMahon. The strategy of the Prussian 
left was indeed in beautiful contrast with all 
the French movements up to this time. In 
actual conflict the superiority of the Prussians 
seems to have been equally marked. There 
have been fair standup fights and headlong 
charges, and the Germans have shown, in 
addition to their characteristic steadiness 
and obstinacy, all that dlan which is sup- 
posed to be the distinguishing merit of the 
French. 

I shall not wonder if European armies 
learn the same truth which was so clearly 
shown in our war of the Rebellion, that 
young men are the best generals. The Crown 
Pi'ince of Prussia, who has the chief glory 
of the defeat of the French army, is not yet 
thirty-nine years old, and before he was 
thirty-five he had made himself a great name 
at Sadowa. Prince Frederick Charles, the 
King's nephew, who commands the Prussian 
right, and is esteemed the ablest of all King 
William's generals, is forty-two years old. 
Most of the fighting at Sadowa was done by 
his army. Nearly all the French leaders are 
old men. 

THE DOWNFALL OF OLLIVIER. 

All Germany was thrown into a blaze of 
enthusiasm by these startling victories, and 
all France was overwhelmed with dismay. 
'J'he news of the disasters reached Paris on 
the 7th, and that turbulent city was seized 
with a paroxysm of rage and defiance. 'J'he 
first and foremost object of condemnation 
was the Ministry, through whose incompe- 
tency the people believed disaster had fallen 
upon the army. The Corps L^gislatif was 
called together on the 9th, and a terrible 
scene was enacted on the opening of the ses- 
sion. Vast multitudes of people surrounded 
the hall wherein the Deputies assembled, 
which was protected by a large force of regu- 
lar troops under Marshal Baraguay d'Hil- 
liers, the commander of Paris. These troops 
were greeted with derisive shouts of "To the 
frontier !" and a serious encounter between 
them and the people was barely averted. 



64 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR 



But the yjassions of the populace were soon 
gratified by the result of the proceedings 
within the hall. When M. OUivier ascended 
the tribune and announced that the deputies 
had been called together before the situation 
of the country was compromised, M. Jules 
Favre cried out, " Descend from the tribune ; 
this is shameful !" Protestations of ability 
on the part of the Ministry to save the coun- 
try were unavailing. M. Favre demanded 
that the Chamber should at once assume the 
management of affairs through an executive 
committee of fifteen members, a proposition 
which the president, M. Schneider, refused 
to entertain, because of its revolutionary and 
■unconstitutional character. A terrible scene 
of disorder ensued in which there were sev- 
eral personal conflicts. Finally M. Ollivier 
made a stand by resisting the demand for the 
order of the day, but it was carried in his 
face, and after a short recess he annoimced 
the resignation of the Ministry, and the 
selection by the Empress Regent of the 
Count de Palikao as the head of the new 
Cabinet. 

The new Premier selected for himself the 
portfolio of War, and on the following day 
aimounced as the names of his colleagues the 
Prince de la Tour d'Auvergne, Foreign Af- 
fairs; Henri Chevreau, Interior; Admiral 
Regault de Genouilly, (the old incumbent, 
and the only member of the Ollivier Ministry 
retained,) Marine ; Pierre Magne, Finance; 
Jerome David, Public Works ; Jules Brame, 
Public Instruction ; M. Grand-Perret, Jus- 
tice ; Clement Duvernois, Agriculture and 
Commerce ; and M. Busson-Billault, Presi- 
dent of the Council of State. The new Min- 
istry, without exception, belonged to the ex- 
treme Bonapartist party, the partjr which had 
been overthrown to make way for the so- 
called " responsible " Ministry, at the head 
of which Ollivier had been placed. But from 
the outset they see)ned to possess the confi- 
dence of the people, and they went to work 
with a will to repair the shattered fortunes 
of France. M. Magne, who had frequently 
been at the head of the Department of Fi- 
nance before, and had been the instrument 
through which Napoleon had negotiated 
nearly all the loans of his reign, introduced 
and carried a measure for a new war loan of 
2,500,000,000 francs, and Imperialists and 
Republicans vied with each other in advocat- 
ing measures for the placing of every able- 
bodied Frenchman under arms. The Repub- 
licans, lead by Favre, Gambetta, and Kera- 
try, however, indulged in daily assaults upon 
. the head of the Governnaent, denouncing the 
Emperor for meddling with the management 
of the army, and charging the majority with 
the responsibility of having entered upon a 
war for which the country was not prepared. 
Marshal Bazaine was placed in chief com- 
mand of the army; Le Bceuf, who, as 
previous Minister of War and subsequently 
Major-General or Chief-of-Stafi" of the array, 
was justly held accountable in great part for 
the Prussian victories, was deposed ; General 



Trochu, who had enjoyed a high reputation 
as a soldier, without having an opportunity 
to display his ability, was named as Le 
Boeuf's successor, but sent at first to the 
camp at Chalons to organize the new levies, 
and from that position called back to Paris, 
on August 17, as Military Governor of the 
capital, in place of Marshal Paraguay d'Hill- 
iers ; and throughout France, as well as in 
Paris, there was such an expression of deter- 
mination to repel the invader, that the entire 
nation appeared at last to have realized the 
magnitude of its peril and risen to an equality 
with the situation. 

THE PERIL OF PARIS. 

THE POSITION OF THE CAPITAL FROM A FRENCH STAND- 
POINT ITS DEPEN'SES — THE VULNERABLE POINT 

HOW THE SIEGB MUST BE CONDUCTED. 

Paris is not an ordinary fortress, it is a vast 
intrenched camp, defended by more than 
half a million of men, and protected by a 
wall of circumvallation eighteen miles in cir- 
cumference, defended by ninety-three bas- 
tions, and fortified in accordance with the 
most perfect rules of the art. Nor is this all. 
These strong defenses are themselves de- 
fended, at distances varying from one and a 
quarter miles to four and a half miles, by a 
girdle of fifteen detached forts, provided with 
seven great outworks, flanking each other, 
and forming a second inclosure of thirty 
miles in circumference, whose powerful artil- 
lery can sweep everything before it at a 
distance of six miles. Paris, finally, is 
defended by the Seine, by the Marne, and by 
a circular railroad with which all the lines in 
France are connected, and Avhich renders it 
possible to convey troops with great rapidity 
to the points menaced in the outer or inner 
line of fortifications. A place of this extent 
can be subjected neither to a proper siege 
nor to an investment complete enough to 
shut out reinforcements and supplies. It 
can, then, only be attacked at a given point, 
and the question remains what is the most 
vulnerable point of this immense circuit. 

T'he forts of the east — Romainville, Noesy, 
Rosny, Nogent, and Vincennes — are very 
advantageously situated on the summit of a 
plateau, partly covered by the Marne. They 
form a formidable line of defence, and it would 
be imprudent — so the Prussian officer form- 
ally declares — to attempt an attack at this 
point. Nor must an attack be thought of on 
the Fort Charenton, situated to the south of 
the preceding, because, after its capture, it 
would be necessary to cross the Marne, under 
the triple fire of the forts of Yincennes, Ivry, 
and inner works of Paris. To the. south of 
Paris and to the west of Charenton are 
situated the forts of Ivry and Bicetre, but 
the siege works could only be executed under 
the fire of the adjoining forts. The other 
forts on the south — Montrouge, Vannes, and 
Issy — rising on the steep heights which 
extend from Sceaux to Versailles, are difficult 
of attack, and the same may be said of the 
citadel of Mont Valerien, the only fort which 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



57 



defends Paris on the west. Mont Yalerien 
is situated at a distance of five miles from 
the fort of Issy, but counting from the latter, 
Paris is doubly covered by the Seine, which 
first flows to the northeast, forms a bend, 
joins the forts of St. Denis, and then directs 
its course to the southwest, parallel to and 
slightly distant from the first curve. Exactly 
in the middle of these bendiugs of the river 
is situated Mont Valerien. 'I'he French 
could launch vessels upon the Seine, armed 
with guns of heavy calibre, which would 
inflict cruel havoc on the besiegers. The 
river Seine, from Issy to St. Cloud, and 
beyond Mont Valerien, is besides protected 
by obstacles in the shape of wooded heights 
and country villas, which could easily be 
adapted for purposes of defense. 

The efl'orts of the besiegers must therefore 
be directed upon St. Denis, and here we 
borrow the exact words of the Prussian 
Lieutenant-CoJonel : — " For a (German be* 
sieging army, the points of attack of the 
fortifications of Paris are naturally the north 
and northeast. In the first place they are 
the weakest, for the east front is partly 
covered by the Marne, and those of the south 
and west are the strongest, and their attack 
might compromise the line of retreat of the 
besiegers, upon which the French army of 
reserve would not fail to operate. So as not 
to expose themselves to have this cut, the 
besiegers must choose the north as the point 
of attack, for their army of observation ought 
to cover the lines of retreat which will follow 
the course of the Meuse and the Seine, as 
they could also be able to restore the railroads 
from Strasburg and Muhlhouse which run 
along these valleys. These roads would also 
serve for the transport of siege material from 
the Rhine fortresses, if the French positions 
captured had not already furnished it. In 
any case the material must be of the very 
heaviest calibre. Admitting that the German 
array of observation should be stronger than 
the French army of reserve, and that the 
latter, held at a distance from Paris, was 
unable to interrupt the siege, St. Denis should 
be the first point of attack. Its capture 
would, in fact, permit of an%.dvance towards 
Montmartre on the wall of circumvallation, 
without being exposed to the flank and rear 
fire of the outer forts. Only those who start 
from the Seine need be regarded with any 
apprehension. 

The three forts of St. Denis and that of 
Aubervilliers will be simultaneously be- 
sieged, and a less serious attack will be made 
on the other forts facing east. The siege 
will then assume the same character as that 
of Sebastopol, and the siege works will have 
to be undertaken at the same time against a 
line of fortifications extending over several 
leagues. St. Denis is situated on the right 
bank of the Seine, which, at this point, dou- 
bles back on its course, and forms a tongue 
of land whence the siege works might be 
taken in flank and rear. Its occupation by 
the besiegers becomes thus a necessity. It 



is difficult, but not impossible, if the Seine is 
crossed in the neighborhood of Argenteuil. 
The besiegers will then be able to command 
the citadel of Mont Valerien, situated upon 
the second tongue of land, to destroy the 
railroad communication of the left bank of 
the Seine with Paris, and to cover the attack 
upon St. Denis. A bridge thrown over the 
Seine would place them in communication 
with the troops operating on the right bank. 
In order to execute this daring plan, the 
Prussian strategist assigns to each corps of 
the invading army the place it ought to oc- 
cupy, and the part it will be called upon to 
play in the general plan of operations. He 
places 50,000 men before the three forts of 
St Denis, and on the tongue of land formed 
by the Seine between St. Denis and Mount 
Valerien. He masses 20,000 men on the- 
north at St. Denis in order to cover the 
siege of this point, and to reinforce tlie corps 
isolated on both banks of the Seine. These 
70,000 men are to find their material of prepa- 
ration to the north of St. Denis, or in the 
forest of Bondy. We might concentrate, he 
adds, 30,000 men in this forest, 20,000 at 
Bourget, behind La Molette, and 30,000 at 
Neuiily-sur-Marne, in order to occupy the 
routes from Metz and from Couloinmiers, 
and sustain the besieging corps at St. Denis.. 
The 20,000 men at Bourget would menace 
the fort of Aubervilliers, and might be able 
to besiege it. They woiild be scarcely two- 
and a half miles distant from St. Denis, and 
would form, along with the troops posted at 
this point, a mass of 90,000 men. These,. 
united with the 30.000 established in the 
forest of Bondy, at two and a half miles from 
Bourget, would be able to offer in this forest 
a very energetic resistance in the event of 
being compelled to retreat, or if they wished 
to act against the sallies in force of the be- 
sieged, to which they would necessarily be 
exposed. On the other hand, the 30,000 
men posted at Neuilly, on the right bank of 
the Marne, will be able to occupy the hill i<y 
the east of the fort of Rosny, and to under- 
take a series of attacks, not very formidable, 
it is true, against the forts facing east, as 
well as to form, with the 30,000 men, in the 
forest of Bondy, an army of 60,000, which 
could secure the path of retreat. Other 
30,000 men should be placed between Neuilly- 
sur-Marne and Villeneuve-sur-Seine, in order 
to observe the roads which start from the 
confluence of the Seine and the Marne 
towards the east. Bridges established on the 
Marne would place these 30,000 men in com- 
munication with the troops established on 
the right bank at Neuilly. The besieging 
army would then number 180,000 men, but 
to besiege Paris this is not sufficient. To 
protect adequately the besiegers, a great 
army of observation is required. This role- 
is assigned by the Prussian lieutenant-colonel 
to the 3d Army, whom he supposes to num- 
ber 120,000 men, and to whom he wishes to 
join a 4th army, penetrating into France by 
way of Switzerland. On this hypothesis, the 



58 



THE FRANCO-GERMAJ^ WAR. 



invading army would arrive before Paris 
with an effective strength of 400,000 men. 
The task of the latter divisions would be to 
hold the French army of relief as far from 
Paris as possible, to intercept supplies, and 
to destroy the railroads which place Paris in 
communication with the south and west of 
France. 

DEPUTY JULES FAVEE. 

THE MAN FOR PRESIDENT OP THE FRENCH REPUBLIC — 
A SKETCH OF HIS CAREER — A LIFE DEVOTED TO THE 

' CAUSE OF LIBERTY, AND UNTAINTED WITH FANATI- 
CISM — HIS BRILLIANT POLITICAL RECORD, AND 
EARNEST ANTAGONISM TO BONAPARTISM IN EVERY 
SHAPE. 

As a firm, consistent, and constant advo- 
cate for more than twenty years of Repub- 
lican principles, M. Jules Pavre occupies a 
leading position in the Corps Lggislatif of 
France. Indeed, there is but one man who 
has pretended to dispute with him the leader- 
ship of the true Republican party since 
Emile OUivier went over to the Empire for 
the sake of making his futile experiment at 
constitutional government under a Bonaparte 
regime, and that man is M. Gambetta. 

Gabriel Claude Jules Favre is almost twice 
as old as his rival, Gambetta, having been 
born at Lyons on March 31, 1809. In the 
revolution of July, 1830, which foiind him a 
student at law in Paris, he took an active 
part, and from that day to this, through the 
press, at the bar, and in the different Na- 
tional Assemblies, he has remained a bold, un- 
daunted, outspoken champion of the better 
type of French republicanism. The inde- 

gendence of his character, the bitter irony of 
is address, and the consistent radicalism of 
his opinions, soon achieved for him a repu- 
tation, which has never been sullied by any 
compromise with Bonapartism other than 
the taking of the oath of allegiance to the 
Empire, when he finally entered the Corps 
L6gislatif. He was admitted to the bar 
soon after arriving at age, and during the 
reign of Louis Phillippe devoted himself 
mainly to the practice of his profession. It 
was not until after the Revolution of Febru- 
ary, 1848, that he entered office for the first 
time. He then became Secretary-General to 
the Minister of the Interior, and in that capa- 
city was called on to write the circular to the 
Commissioners of the Provisional Govern- 
ment and the famous " Bulletins " of 1848. 
He was soon transferred to the Under-Secre- 
taryship for Foreign Affairs, and, being 
elected a member of the Assembly, voted for 
the prosecution of Louis Blanc and Caussi- 
diere, for their complicity in the insurrection 
of June, 1848 ; refused to join in the vote of 
thanks to General Cavaignac ; and resolutely 
opposed the expedition to Rome in Decem- 
ber, 1848, by which Louis Napoleon incurred 
the hostility of the leading republicans with 
whom he had theretofore affiliated. He op- 
posed the elevation of the Bonaparte adven- 
turer to the Presidency, and after that event 
became his strenuous antasronist in the 



National Assembly. The impUcation of 
Ledru-RoUin in the plot to overthrow the 
Prince President rendered it necessary for 
the leader of the " Mountain " party to seek 
safety in England, after which Jules Favre 
succeeded to the leadership. 

By the coup d'etat he was driven into re- 
tirement, as he refused to take the oath of 
allegiance to the new Constitution on being 
elected a member of the Counseil-General of 
Loire-et-Rhone. He then devoted himself 
for some years to his profession, and as one 
of the counsel of Orsini, in October, 1858, 
created an immense sensation by the bold- 
ness and eloquence of his defence of the 
reckless enthusiast who had attempted the 
life of the Emperor. But he entered the 
Corps L§gislatif the same year, taking the 
oath of allegiance to the empire which he de- 
tested; and since that time, by successive 
re-elections in 1863 and 1869, has signalized 
himself by an unswerving antagonism of the 
Imperial policy. He was one of the original 
"five" opposition members, has advocated 
the complete liberty of the press, opposed 
the " law of deportation," fought against 
French interference in the Italian war of in- 
dependence against Austria, in 1859, and in 
1864 severely assailed the ill-starred Mexican 
venture of the Emperor. In 1837, he pub- 
lished a work entitled " Contemporaneous 
Biography," and since that time many of his 
famous speeches, and several pamphlets have 
been given to the public in a permanent 
form. In August, 1860, and again in 1861, 
he was elected batonmer or president of the 
order of advocates at Paris, a fitting recog- 
nition of his high standing in the profession ; 
and in May, 1867, he became a member of the 
French Academy. 

When Napoleon showed signs of yielding 
something to the pressure of public opinion, 
after the general elections of May, 1869, M. 
Favre's name came to be mentioned promi- 
nently in connection with Ollivier's as the 
head of the responsible ministry which was 
about to be installed. But he soon dispelled 
the possibility of the scheme by declaring 
his dissatisfaction with the proposed " con- 
stitutional regim6." " So long," he wrote in 
September last, " as the press is amenable to 
judges only, and not to a jury ; so long as 
there is no guarantee for individual liberty ; 
so long as elections are not free, and the 
mayors are not elected by the populations ; 
so long as an enormous standing army 
weighs upon our budget, we should be the 
most contemptible people on earth if we 
were satisfied." So he succeeded to the posi- 
tion vacated by OUivier, on the latter's ac- 
cession to power. 

On the 25th of June last, just before the 
war-cloud gathered over Europe, M. Favre 
delivered a famous speech in the Chamber, 
in which he was as unmerciful to the first 
empire as to the second. While supporting 
a proposal of the Left that the municipalities 
should be allowed to elect their mayors, he 
asserted that the inherent rights of the 



THE FKANCO-GERMAN WAR 



59 



municipalities, recognized as early as the 
thirteenth century, had been stamped out 
by the first Napoleon. Dazzled by the glit- 
ter of his military glory, France was still 
under the influence of his tyrannical ideas, 
under the false impression that a genius had 
saved her from ruin, while in reality he had 
ruined her and annihilated her liberties. 
This plain speaking created a great uproar, 
and when Granier de Cassaignac, one of the 
most servile tools of the third Napoleon, 
interrupted him with the declaration that 
the first Napoleon " covered France with 
institutions; you and your friends with 
ruins," M. Favre referred to the humiliation 
of France through foreign invasions, which 
would have been averted if liberty had held 
command of the army instead of despotism, 
•declared that there was not a single man in 
the Chamber who would venture to assert 
that liberty existed under the first empire, 
xmd continued : — " I am vindicating the glory 
of the country against the unconscious vota- 
ries of despotism, tvho are anxious to revive 
traditions ivhich would once more bring about 
our degradation !" 

These stirring words, uttered scarcely 
three weeks before the declaration of war 
:again&t Prussia, and before there was a sign 
of the approaching conflict, were uncon- 
sciously prophetic. 

The rise of the Hohenzollern difficulty 
found M. Favre fully prepared to lead the 
.assault upon the Ollivier Government. On 
the 8th of July, when the ministry attempted 
to secure a postponement of the discus- 
sion of the question, and refused to lay be- 
fore the Chamber the documents relating to 
it, he declared that the object of delay was 
to afi'ord an opportunity for stock-jobbing on 
the Bourse, and when the final declaration 
of war came, took his stand by the side of 
Thiers and Gambetta, and insisted upon the 
production of all the correspondence with 
Prussia, declaring that France could not 
anake war on the authority of mere telegrams. 
But after the French defeat at Weissenburg, 
he at once urged an unflinching resistance to 
the invader, joining with sixteen other depu- 
ties on the 8th of August in signing a de- 
mand that all France should be armed to 
repel the enemy. 

On the 9th the Corps L6gislatif was re- 
assembled by order of the Empress, and in 
the exciting scene which ensued, ending in 
i)llivier's downfall, M. Favre played an im- 
portant part. Ollivier opened the session by 
stating that the deputies had been called to- 
gether before the situation of the country 
had been compromised, to which M. Favre 
answered that it had already been compro- 
mised by the incapacity of its chief. '"De- 
scend from the tribune," he cried out to Olli- 
vier ; "this is shameful ! In spite of its 
government, the country is patriotic, but it 
is vilely ruled." He then offered resolutions 
for arming every able-bodied citizen of Paris 
on the electoral lists, and for investing in an 
executive committee of fifteen members the 



full powers of the Government for repelling 
foreign invasion In his speech in support 
of these propositions, M. Favre insisted that 
the Emperor should be recalled from the 
army, and that the only hope of saving the 
country was by wresting power from incapa- 
ble hands that then held it. His proposition 
for the assumption of supreme authority by 
the Corps L^gislatif was declared by the 
President, the obsequious Schneider, to be 
revolutionary, and that functionary refused 
to submit it to a vote. 

The Ollivier ministry were driven from 
power, and on the accession of the Count de 
Palikao, M. Favre gave the new government 
his cordial support in all measures for the 
resistance of the invaders, continually and 
repeatedly urging upon it, however, the ne- 
cessity for prompt and decisive action. He 
also continued to maintain that all the mis- 
fortunes of the country came from that fatal 
mismanagement to which the Chamber had 
been compelled to submit ; and, after the 
disastrous battles near Metz and the ap- 
proach of the Crown Prince at the head of 
his army towards the capital, endeavored to 
inspire his countrymen with patriotic zeal, 
denouncing as thrice accursed the citizen of 
France who founded his hopes for the future 
upon defeat and ruin. 

Such has been the career of Jules Favre — 
a career which is happily as free from fanati- 
cism as it is from treachery to the cause of 
liberty and justice. He has never displayed 
anj' tendencies towards the " irreconcilable " 
school of which Raspail and Rochefort are 
the types, and thus retains the confidence 
and respect of those who preferred stability 
under a Bonaparte to anarchy under a mod- 
ern Jacobin. In patriotism, in experience, 
in discretion, in ability, and in devotion to 
the cause of true Republicanism, Jules Favre 
is the foremost man in France. He com- 
bines perhaps in a greater degree than any 
of his contemporaries the elements of sta- 
bility and radicalism ; and, if a republic is to 
rise from the ruins of the empire, his claims 
upon the chief magistracy of the nation are 
superior to those of any who may antagonize 
them. Whether, in the tumult of the great 
upheaval, his rare worth will receive its fit- 
ting recognition is a question which time 
alone can decide. 

THE EEVOIUTION IN PARIS. 

CORRECTED LIST OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE GOVERN- 
MENT THE NEW MINISTRY. 

Paris, September .5. — The following is a 
corrected list of the Provision Government 
taking the name of the National Defense 
Government : — Emmanuel Arago, Cremieux, 
Jules Favre, Jules Ferry, Gambetta, Garnier- 
Pages, Glais-Bizoin, Pelletan, Ernest Picard, 
Rochefort, Jules Simon. The Ministry is as 
follows : 

Minister of Foreign Afifairs — Jules Favre. 

Minister of Justice — Isaac Cremieux. 

Minister of the Interior — Leon Gambetta. 

Minister of Finance — Ernest Picard. 



60 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



Superintendent of Public Works — Pierre 
Dorian. 

Minister of Commerce — Joseph Magnin. 

Superintendent of Public Instruction — 
Jules Simon. 

Minister of Marine — Martin Fourichon. 

Minister of War — Louis Jules Trochu ; 
also, President of the Committee. 

The French Republic of 1870 has been 
recognized by the United States, and this 
comes about by the fall of Napoleon. 

THE DECISIVE BATTLE OF THE WAR. 

MARSHAL MACMAHON'S 'WHOLE ARMY CAPTURED — THE 

EMPEROR SURRENDERS TO KING WILLIAM MACMA- 

HON SEVERELY AVOUNDED — DESPATCH rROM KING 
WILLIAM. 

Before Sedan, France, 

Friday, Sept. 2—1:22 p. m. 
From the King to the Queen. — A capitula- 
tion, whereby the whole army at Sedan are 
prisoners of war, has just been concluded 
with Gen. Wimpfen, commanding, instead 
of Marshal MacM ahon, who is wounded. The 
Emperor surrendered himself to me, as he 
has no command, and left everything to the 
Regency at Paris. His residence I shall 
appoint after an interview with him at a 
rendezvous to be fixed immediately. Under 
God's guidance, what a course events have 
taken ! 

THE BATTLE AND THE STJREENDEE. 

THE TRENCH CUT OFF FROM MEZIERBS — SEDAN COM- 
PLETELY SURROUNDED — THE FORTIFICATIONS CAR- 
RIED BY THE BAVARIANS — THE EMPEROb'S LETTER 
TO KING WILLIAM. 

(The following account I take from the 
New York Tribune's correspondent. This 
paper, during the war, had full and correct 
accounts of every battle, and its dispatches 
were copied throughout the United States. — 
Ed.) 

" The battle of Sedan began at 6 A. m. on 
the 1st of September. Two Prussian corps 
were in position on the west of Sedan, hav- 
ing got there by a long forced march, so as 
to cut off the French retreat to M6ziferes. 
On the south of Sedan was the First Bava- 
rian Corps, and on the east, across the 
. Meuse, the Second Bavarian Corps. The 
Saxons were on the northeast with the 
Guards. I was with the King throughout 
the day on the hill above the Meuse, com- 
manding a splendid view of the valley of the 
river and the field. 

" After a tremendous battle, the Prussians 
having completely surrounded Sedan, and 
the Bavarians having actually entered the 
fortifications of the city, the Emperor capitu- 
lated at 5:1.5 p. M. His letter to the king of 
Prussia said : 

" ' As I cannot die at the head of my army, 
I lay my siuord at the feet of your Majesty. ' 

'■Napoleon left Sedan for the Prussian 
head-quarters at Vendresse, at 1 a. m. on the 
2d September. MacMahon's whole army 
comprising 100,000 men, capitulated without 
conditions. The Prussians had 2,40,000 troops 
engaged or in reserve, the French 120,000." 



Head-quarters King of Germans, eight 
miles from Sedan, Thursday night Sept. 1, 
1870. 

WHAT THE FRENCH PRISONERS SAY. 

After their defeats on the 30th and 31st 
ult., the French retreated en masse on Sedan, 
and encamped around it. From what I 
learned from the French prisoners — of whom, 
as you may imagine, there was no lack in 
our quarter — it seems that they fully be- 
lieved that the road to M6zi5res would al- 
ways be open to them, and that therefore^ 
in case of another defeat before Sedan, their 
retreat would be easily accomplished. 

A FORCED MARCH. 

On the evening of Wednesday, from 5 to 
8 o'clock, I was at the Crown Prince's quar- 
ters at Ohemery, a village some thirteen miles 
from Sedan to the south-south-west on the 
main road. At half-past five we saw that 
there was a great movement among the 
troops encamped all around us, and we 
thought at first that the King was riding 
through the bivouacs ; but soon the 37th 
regiment came pouring through the village, 
their band playing Die Wacht am Rhein as 
they marched along with a swinging stride. 
I saw at once by the men's faces that some- 
thing extraordinary was going on. It was 
soon plain that the troops were in the light- 
est possible marching order. All their knap- 
sacks were left behind, and they were carry- 
ing nothing but cloaks slung around their 
shoulders, except that one or. two hon vivants 
had retained their camp-kettles. But if the 
camp-kettles were left behind, the cartouche- 
cases were there — hanging heavily in front 
of the men's belts, unbalanced, as they ought 
to be, by the knapsacks. Soon I learned 
that the whole Prussian corps — those lent 
from Prince Frederick Charles' army, the 
Second Army, and the Crown Prince's — 
were making a forced march to the left in 
the direction of Donchery and M6ziferes, in 
order to shut in MacMahon's army in the 
west, and so drive them against the Belgiaa 
frontier. I learned from the officers of the 
Crown Prince's staff that at the same time, 
while we were watching regiment after regi- 
ment pass through Chemery the Saxons and 
the Guards, 80,000 strong on the Prussian 
right, under Prince Albert of Saxony, were 
also marching rapidly, to close on the 
doomed French army on the right bank of ' 
the Meuse, which they had crossed at Re- 
milly, on Tuesday the 30th, in the direction 
of La Chapelle, a small village of 930 inhabi- 
tants on the road from Sedan to Bouillon, in 
Belgium, and the last village before crossing 
the frontier. 

Anything more splendid than the men's 
marching, it would be impossible to imagine. 
1 saw men lame in both feet hobbling along 
in the ranks, kind comrades less footsore car- 
rying their needle-guns. Those who were 
actually incapable of putting one foot befores 



THE. FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



61 



another, had pressed peasants' wagons and 
every available conveyance into service, and 
were foUowins? in the rear, so as to be ready 
for the great battle, which all felt sure would 
come off on the morrow. The Bavarians, 
who, it is generally believed, do not march 
so well as they fight, were in the center, be- 
tween us at Chemery and Sedan, encamped 
around the woods of La Marfee, famous for 
a great battle in 1641, during the wars of the 
lieague. When I had seen the last regiment 
dash through — for the pace at which they 
went can reallj' not be called " marching " 
in the ordinary sense — I rode off about a 
quarter past eight in the evening for Vend- 
resse v.here the King's headquarters were, 
and where I hoped to find house-room for 
man and beast, especially the latter, as be- 
ing far the most important on the eve of a 
great battle. 

When I got within about half a mile of 
Vendresse, going at a steady trot, a sharp 
" Halt !" rang out through the clear air. I 
brought my horse to a stand-still, knowing 
that Prussian sentries are not to be trifled 
with. As I pulled up 20 yards off, I heard 
the clicks of their locks as they brought their 
weapons to full cock and covered me. My 
reply being satisfactory, I jogged on into 
Yendresse, and my mare and myself had 
soon forgotten sentinels, forced marches, and 
coming battles, one of us on the straw, the 
other on the floor. 

THE STAET TOE THE BATTLE-FIELD. 

At seven, Thursday morning, my servant 
came to wake me, saying that the King's 
horses were harnessing, and that His Majesty 
would leave in half an hour for the battle- 
field ; and as a cannonade had already been 
heard near Sedan, I jumped up, seized crusts 
of bread, wine, cigars, etc., and crammed 
them into my holster, taking my breakfast 
on the way. 

Just as I got to my horse. King William 
drove out in an open carriage with four 
horses, for Chevange, about three and a half 
miles south of Sedan. Much against my will, 
I was compelled to allow the King's staff to 
precede me on the road to the scene of ac- 
tion, where I arrived myself soon after nine 
o'clock. It was impossible to ride fast, all 
the roads being blocked up with artillery, 
ammunition wagons, ambulances, etc. As I 
''rode on to the crest of the hill which rises 
sharply about 600 or 700 feet above the little 
hamlet of Chevange, nestled in a grove below, 

A MOST GLOEIOUS PANORAMA. 

burst on my view. As General Forsyth of 
the United States army remarked to me later 
in the day, it would have been worth the 
coming, merely to see so splendid a scene, 
without " battle's magnificently stern array." 
In the lovely valley below us, from the knoll 
on which I stood with the King and his 
. staff, we could see not only the whole Valley 
of the Meuse (or Maas, as the Germans love 



to call the river that Louis XIV stole from 
them), but also beyond the great woods of 
Bois de Loup and Francheval into Belgium, 
and as far as the hilly forest of Numo on the 
other side of the frontier. Right at our feet 
lay the little town of Sedan, famous for its 
fortifications by Vauban, and as the birth- 
place of Turenne — the great Marshal. It is 
known, also, as the place where Sedan chairs 
originated. As we were only about two and 
a quarter miles from the town, we could 
easily distinguish its principal edifices with- 
out the aid of our field-glasses. On the left 
was a pretty church, its Gothic spire of 
sandstone offering a conspicuous target for 
the Prussian guns, had Gen. Moltke thought 
fit to bombard the town. To the right, on 
the southeast of the church, was a large bar- 
rack, with the fortifications of the citadel. 
Behind it and beyond this to the southeast 
again was the old chateau of Sedan, with . 
picturesque, round-turreted towers of the 
sixteenth century, very useless even against 
four-poiander Krupp field-pieces, lliis build- 
ing, I believe, is now an arsenal. Beyond 
this was the citadel — the heart of Sedan — on 
a rising hill above the Meuse to the south- 
east, but completely commanded by the hills 
on both sides the river which runs in front 
of the citadel. 

A GEAVE FEENCH BLUNDER. 

The French had flooded the low meadows 
in the valley before coming to the railway 
bridge at Bazeille, in order to stop the Ger- 
mans from advancing on the town in that 
direction. With their usual stupidity (for 
one can find no other word for it), the 
French had failed to mine the bridge at Ba- 
zeille, and it was of immense service to the 
Prussians throughout the battle. The Prus- 
sians actually threw up earthworks on the 
iron bridge itself to protect it from the 
French, who more than once attempted early 
in the day to storm the bridge, in the hope 
of breaking the Bavarian commimication 
between the right and left banks of the 
Meuse. This tliey were unable to do ; and 
although their cannon-shot have almost de- 
mohshed the parapet, the bridge itself was 
never materially damaged. 

POSITION OF THE CONTENDING FOECES. 

On the projecting spurs of the hill, crowned 
by the woods of La Marfee, of which I have 
already spoken, the Bavarians had posted two 
batteries of six-pounder rifled breech-loading 
steel Krupp guns, which kept up a duello till 
the very end of the day with the siege guns 
of Sedan across the Meuse. Still further to 
the right flank, or rather, to the east (for oiar 
line was a circular one— a cresent at first, 
with Sedan on the center like the star on the 
Turkish standard), was an undulating plain 
above the village of Bazeille. Terminating 
about a mile and a half from Sedan, at the 
woods near Rubecourt, midway — that is to 
say, in a line from Bazeille north — there is a 
ravine watered by a tiny brook, which was 



62 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



the scene of the most desperate struggle and 
of the most frightful slaughter of the whole 
battle. This stream, whose name I have 
forgotten, if it ever had one, runs right 
behind the town of Sedan. 

From the woods of Fieigreuse on the north 
behind the town, rises a hill dotted with cot- 
tages and fruit-laden orchards, and crowned 
by the wood of La Garenne which runs down 
to the valley of which I have just spoken. 
Between this wood and the town were several 
French camps, their white shelter tents 
standing out clear among the dark fruit-trees. 
In these camps one could see throughout the 
day huge masses of troops which were never 
used. Even during the height of the battle, 
they stood as idle as Fitz John Porter's at 
the second battle of Bull-Run. "We imagined 
that they must have been undisciplined 
Gardes Mobiles whom the French Generals 
dared not bring out against their enemy. 

To the Prussian left of these French camps, 
separated from them by a wooded ravine, was 
a long bare hill, something like one of the 
hills on Long Island. This hill, on which 
was some of the hardest fighting of the day, 
formed one of the keys of the position of the 
French army. When once its crests were 
covered with Prussian artillery, the whole 
town of Sedan was completely at the mercy 
of the German guns, as they were not only 
above the town, but the town was almost 
within mxisket range of them. 

Still further to the left lay the village of 
Illy, set on fire early in the day by. the French 
shells. South of this the broken railway 
bridge, blown up by the French to protect 
their right, was a conspicuous object. 

Right above the railway bridge on the line 
to M6ziferes was the wooded hill crowded by 
the new and most hideous " chateau," as he 
calls it, of one Monsieur Pave. It was here 
the Crown Prince and his stafi" stood during 
the day, having a rather more extensive but 
less central view, and therefore less desirable 
than ours, where stood the King, Count 
Bismarck, Von Roon, the War Minister, 
Gen. Moltke, and Gens. Sheridan and For- 
syth — to say nothing of your correspondent. 

THE PRUSSIAN PLAN OF BATTLE. 

Having thus endeavored to give some faint 
idea of the scene of what is in all probability 
the decisive battle of the war, I will next 
give an account of the position of the differ- 
ent corps at the commencement of the ac- 
tion, premising that all the movements were 
of the simplest possible nature, the object of 
the Prussian generals being merely to close 
the crescent of troops with which they began 
into a circle by effecting a junction between 
the Saxon corps on their right and the Prus- 
sian corps on their left, 'iliis junction took 
place about noon, near the little village of 
Olley, on the Bazeille ravine, behind Sedan, of 
which I have already spoken. " Once their 
terrible circle formed and well soldered to- 
gether, it grew steadily smaller and smaller, 



until at last the fortifications of Sedan itself" 
were entered. 

On the extreme right were the Saxons — 
one corps d'armee, with King William's 
Guards ; also, a corps d'armee in reserve be- 
hind them. The Guards had suffered terri- 
bly at Gravelotte, where they met the 
Imperial Guard ; and the King would not 
allow them to be again so cruelly decimated. 
Justice compels me to state that this ar- 
rangement was very far, indeed, from being 
pleasing to the Guards themselves, who are 
ever anxious to be in the forefront of the 
battle. 

The Guards and Saxons, then about 
75,000 strong, were all day on the right 
bank of the Meuse, between Rubecourt and 
La Chapelle, at which latter village Prince 
Albert of Saxony, who was i-n command of 
the two corps which have been formed into 
a little extra army by themselves, passed the 
night of Thursday. 

The ground from Rubecourt to the Meuse 
was occupied by the First Bavarian Corps. 
The Second Bavarian Corps extended their 
front from near the Bazeille railway-bridge ta 
a point on the high road from Donchery to 
Sedan, not far from the little village of 
Torcy. Below the hill on which the Crown 
Prince was placed, the ground from Torcy 
to Illy, through the large village of Floing, 
was held by the First and Third Prussian 
Corps, belonging to the army of Prince 
Frederick Charles, and temporarily attached 
to the army of the Crown Prince. 

This was the position of the troops about 
9 o'clock on Thursday morning, September 
1st, and no great advance took place till 
later than that, for the artillery had at first 
all the work to do. Still further to the 
left, near Doncher/, there were 20,000' 
Wiirtembergers ready to cut off the French 
from M6ziferes, in case of their making a 
push for that fortress. 

THE FOBCES ENGAGED. 

The number of the Prussian troops engaged 
was estimated by General Moltke at 240,000, 
and that of the French at 120,000. We 
know that MacMahon had with him on 
Tuesday 120,000 men, that is, four corps , 
his own, that lately commanded by General 
De Failly, now under General Le Brun; that 
of Felix Douay, brother of General Abel 
Douay, killed at Weissenburg ; and a fourth 
corps principally composed of Garde Mobile, 
the name of whose commander has escaped 
me. MacMahon, although wounded, com- 
manded in chief on the French side. 

It is almost needless to say that the real 
Commander-in-Chief of the Prussians was 
"Von Moltke ; with the Crown Prince and 
Prince Albert of Saxony immediately next 
in command. 

OPENING OF THE BATTLE. 

There were a few stray cannon shots fired, 
merely to obtain the range, as soon as it was 




CITIZENS AND SOLDIERS AT WORK ON THE EORTIEICATIONS 

OF PARIS. 

©iirgcr unb (Solisnkn orfecitm mi ben SJcrfi^anjungcu tion ^axU. 




PRINCE LEOPOLD OF HOHENZOLLEEK-SIGMARINGEN. 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



67 



liglit; but the real battle did not begin until 
6 o'clock, becoming a sharp artillery fight at 
^), when the batteries had each got within 
easy range, and the shells began to do serious 
mischief. At 11:55 the musketry fire in the 
valley behind Sedan, which had opened about 
11:25, became exceedingly lively — being one 
continuous rattle, only broken by the loud 
(growling of the mitrailleuses, which played 
with deadly efi'ect upon the Saxon and Bava- 
rian columns. Gen. Sheridan, by whose 
side I was standing at the time, told me that 
lie did not remember ever to have heard such 
a well-sustained fire of small arms. It made 
itself heard above the roar of the batteries 
at our feet. 

At 12 o'clock precisely the Prussian battery 
of six guns on the slope above the broken 
railway bridge over the Meuse, near La 
Yillette, had silenced two batteries of French 
guns at the foot of the bare hill already 
mentioned, near the village of Floing. At 
12:10 the French infantry, no longer sup- 
ported by their artillery, were compelled to 
retire to Floing, and soon afterward the 
junction between the Saxons and Prussians 
behind Sedan was announced to us by Gen. 
Von Roon, eagerly peering through a large 
telescope, as being safely completed. 

THE FEENCH SURKOTINDED. 

From this moment the result of the battle 
could no longer be doubtful. The French 
were completely surrounded and brought to 
bay. At 12:25 we were all astonished to see 
clouds of retreating French infantry on the 
hill between Floing and Sedan, a Prussian 
battery in front of St. Menges making accu- 
rate practice with percussion shells among 
the receding ranks. The whole hill for a 
quarter of an hour was literally covered with 
Frenchmen running rapidly. 

Less than half an hour afterward — at 
12:50 — Gen. Von Eoon called our attention 
to another French column in full retreat to 
the right of Sedan, on the road leading from 
Bazeille to the La Garenne wood. They 
never halted until they came to a red-roofed 
house on the outskirts of Sedan itself. Al- 
most at the same moment Gen. Sheridan, 
who was using my opera-glass, asked me to 
look at a third French column moving up a 
broad, grass-covered road through the La 
Garenne wood, immediately above Sedan, 
*"< oubtless to support the troops defending 
the important Bazeille ravine to the north- 
east of the town. 

THE KEY OF THE POSITION. 

At 1 o'clock the French batteries on the 
edge of the wood toward Torcy and above it 
opened a vigorous fire on the advancing 
Prussian columns of the Third Corps, whose 
evident intention it was to storm the hill 
northwest of La Garenne, and so gain the 
key of the position on that side. At 1 : 05 yet 
another French battery near the wood 
opened on the Prussian columns, which 



1 were compelled to keep shifting their ground 
till ready for their final rush at the hills, in 
•order to avoid offering so good a mark to the 
French shells. Shortly afterward we saw the 
first Prussian skirmishers on the crest of the 
La Garenne hills above Torcy. They did not 
seem to be in strength, and General Sheri- 
dan, standing behind me, exclaimed : 

"Ah ! the beggars are too weak ; they can 
never hold that position against all those 
French." 

The General's prophecy soon proved cor- 
rect, for the French advanced at least six to 
one ; and the Prussians were forced to re- 
treat d«wn the hill to seek re-enforcements 
from the columns which were hurrying to 
their support. In five miimtes they came 
back again, this time in greater force, but 
still terribly inferior to those huge French 
masses. 

AN UNSUCCESSFUL CAVALRY CHARGE. 

" Good heavens ! The French cuirassiers 
are going to charge them," cried General 
Sheridan ; and sure enough, the regiment 
of cuirassiers, their helmets and breast- 
plates flashing in the September sun, formed 
in sections of squadrons and dashed down on 
the scattered Prussian skirmishers, without 
deigning to form a line. Squares are never 
used by the Prussians, and the infantry re- 
ceived the cuirassiers with a crushing 
" quick-fire," schnellfeuer, at about a hundred 
yards distance, loading and firing with ex- 
treme rapidity, and shooting with unfailing 
precision into the dense French squadrons. 
The eflect was startling. Over went horses 
and men in numbers, in masses, in hundreds ; 
and the regiment of proud French cuiras- 
siers went hurriedly back in disorder ; went 
back faster than it came ; went back scarcely 
a regiment in strength, and not at all a regi- 
ment in form. Its comely array was sud- 
denly changed into shapeless and helpless 
crowds of flying men. 

CAVALRY PURSUED BY INFANTRY. 

The moment the cuirassiers turned back, 
the brave Prussians actually dashed forward 
in hot pursuit at double-quick ; infantry 
evidently pursuing flying cavalry. Such a 
thing has not often been recorded in the annals 
of war. I know not when an example to com- 
pare precisely with this has occurred. There 
was no more striking episode in the battle. 

" There will be a devil of a fight for that 
crest before it is won or lost," said Sheridan, 
straining his eyes through his field-glass at 
the hill which was not three miles from us. 
The full sun was shining upon that hill ; we 
gazing upon it had the sun behind us. 

ANOTHER FRUITLESS CAVALRY CHARGE. 

At 1:30 French cavalry — this time, I pre- 
sume, a regiment of carabiniers — made 
another dash at the Prussians, who, on their 
part, were receiving reinforcements every 
moment ; but the carabiniers met with the 



68 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



same fate as their brethren in iron jackets, 
and were sent to the right about with heavy 
loss. The Prussians took advantage of their 
flight to advance their line about 200 yards 
nearer the line which the French infantry 
held. 

ANOTHER FBENCH BLUNDER. 

This body of adventurous Prussians split 
into two portions, the two parts leaving a 
break of a hundred yards in their line. We 
were not long in perceiving the object of this 
movement, for the little white puffs from the 
crest behind the skirmishers, followed by a 
commotion in the dense French masses, 
show us that these " diahles de Prussiens " 
have contrived, lieaven only knows how, to 
get two four-pounders up the steep ground, 
and have opened fire on the French. Some- 
thing must at this point have been very 
much mismanaged with the French infantry ; 
for, instead of attacking the Prussians, whom 
they still outnumbered by at least two to 
one, they remained in column on the hill, and 
though seeing their only hope of retrieving 
the day vanishing from before their eyes, 
still they did not stir. Then the French 
cavalry tried to do 

A LITTLE BALAKLAVA BUSINESS, 

tried, but without the success of the im- 
mortal six hundred, who took the guns on 
which they charged. The c^^irassiers came 
down once more, this time riding straight for 
the two field-pieces ; but before they came 
within 200 yards of the guns, the Prussians 
formed line as if on parade, and waiting 
till those furious French horsemen had 
ridden to a point not fifty yards awa^r, they 
fired. The volley seemed to us to empty 
the saddles of almost the whole of the lead- 
ing squadron. The dead so strewed the 
ground as to block the path of the squadron 
following, and close before them the direct 
and dangerous road they had meant to follow. 
Their dash at the guns became a halt. 

RETREAT OF THE FRENCH. 

When once this last effort of the French 
horse had been made and had failed — failed, 
though pushed gallantly so far as men and 
horses could go — the French infantry fell 
swiftly back toward Sedan. It fell back be- 
cause it saw that the chance of its carrying 
that fiercely-contested hill was gone, and 
saw also that the Prussians holding the hill 
were crowning it with guns, so that their 
own line could not much longer be held 
facing it. In an instant, as the French re- 
tired, the whole slope of the ground was 
covered by swarms of Prussian tirailleurs, 
who seemed to rise out of the ground, and 
push forward by help of every slight rough- 
ness or depression in the surface of the hill. 
As fast as the French went back these active 
enemies followed. After the last desperate 
charge of the French cavalry, General Sheri- 
dan remarked to me that he never saw any- 



thing so reckless, so utterly foolish, as that 
last charge. " It was sheer murder." 

' The Prussians, after the French infantry 
fell back, advanced rapidly — so rapidly that 
the retreating squadrons of French cavalry, 
being too closely pressed, turned suddenly 
round and charged desperately once again. 
But it was all no use. The days of breaking 
squares are over. The thin blue line soon 
stopped the Gallic onset. 

It struck me as most extraordinary, that 
at this point the French had 

NEITHER ARTILLERY NOR MITRAILLEUSES, 

especially the latter, on the field to cover 
their infantry. The position was a most im- 
portant one and certainly worth straining 
every nerve to defend. One thing was clear 
enough, that the French infantry, after once 
meeting the Prussians, declined to try con- 
clusions with them again, and that the 
cavalry were seeking to encourage them by 
their example. About 2 o'clock still other 
reinforcements came to the Prussians over 
this long-disputed hill between Torcy and 
Sedan to support the regiments already 
established there. 

HAVOC AMONG THE BAVARIANS. 

At the time that this great coHflict was 
going on under Fritz's eyes, another was 
fought not less severe and as murderous for 
the Bavarians as the one I have attempted 
to describe, was for the French. If there 
was a want of Mitrailleuses on the hill above 
Torcy, there was certainly no lack of them in 
the Bazeille ravine. On that side there was, 
for more than an hour, one continuous roar 
of musketry and mitrailleuses. Two Bava- 
rian officers told me that the loss in their 
regiments was terrific, and that it was the 
mitrailleuses which made the havoc. 

THE FRENCH FALL BACK ON SEDAN. 

At 2:05 in the afternoon, the French 
totally abandoned the hill between Torcy 
and Sedan, and fell back on the faubourg of 
Caval, just outside the i-ainparts of the town.- 
" Now the battle is lost for the French," said' 
General Sheridan, to the delight of the 
Prussian officers. One would almost have 
imagined that the French had heard his 
words — they had hardly been uttered, when 
there came a lull in the firing all along the 
line, or rather circle ; as such it had now be- 
come. 

BELGIAN NEUTRALITY. 

Count Bismarck chose that moment to 
come and have a talk with his English and 
American friends. I was anxious to know 
what the Federal Chancellor had done about 
the neutrality of Belgium, now threatened, 
and my curiosity was soon gratified. " I 
have told the Belgian Minister of War," said 
Count Bismarck, " that so long as the Bel- 
gian troops do their utmost to disarm any 
number of French soldiers who may cross 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR, 



71 



the frontier, I will strictly respect the neu- 
trality of Belgium ; but if, on the contrary, 
the Belgians, either through negligence or 
inability, do not disarm and capture every 
man in French uniform who sets his foot in 
their country, we shall at once follow the 
enemy into neutral territory with our troops, 
considering that the French have been the 
first to violate the Belgian soil. I have been 
down to have a look at the Belgian troops 
near the frontier," added Count Bismarck, 
" and I confess they do not inspire me with 
a very high opinion of their martial ardor or 
discipline. When they have their great 
coats on, one can see a great deal of paletot, 
but hardly any soldier." 

BISHASCE'S FIBST MISTAKE. 

I asked his Excellency where he thought 
the Emperor was : " In Sedan ?" " Oh, no !" 
was the reply ; " Napoleon is not very wise, 
but he is not so foolish as to put himself in* 
Sedan just now," For once in his life, 
Count Bismarck was wrong. 

At 2:45 the King came to the place where 
I was standing. He remarked that he thought 
the French were about to try to break out 
just beneath us in front of the Second Bava- 
rian Corps. At 3:50 General Sheridan told 
me that Napoleon and Louis were in Sedan. 

BBAYEBY OF THE BAYABIANS. 

At 3:20 the Bavarians below us not only 
contrived to get themselves inside the fortifi- 
cations of Sedan, but to maintain themselves 
here, working their way forward from house 
to house. About 4, there was a great fight 
for the possession of the ridge above Bazeille. 
That carried, Sedan was swept on all sides 
by the Prussian cannon. This point of van- 
tage was carried at 4:40. When carried, 
there could no longer be a shade of doubt as 
to the ultimate fate of Sedan. 

A BETBOSFECTION, 

THE FINAL BLOW AT SEDAN, 

The general headquarters of the army of 
the Crown Prince, and probably the bulk of 
his force, advanced no further than Bar-le- 
Duc, but Frederick William himself is re- 
ported to have slept at Chalons on the night 
of August 27, his advance being then at a 
point about ten miles further west, and 
eighty miles from Paris. But at that time 
the movement of MacMahon towards M6ziferes 
was fully developed, and the army of the 
Crown Prince was turned to the right to 
follow him up, while the detached portion of 
the Prussian army around Metz was pushed 
towards the northwest to intercept the 
French advance. As soon as MacMahon had 
collected his forces in the neighborhood of 
Bethel, he began a movement directly east 
towards Montmedy, and daily conflicts be- 
tween detached portions of the hostile armies 
occurred, with almost unvarying success on 
the Prussian side. By the 30th of August, 
the whole French army was fairly in motion 



in the direction of Montmedy, and on tha 
day there was a fierce encounter with the 
Prussians at Beaumont, about fourteen miles 
west of Montmedy, in which the corps of 
General de Failly was severely handled. The 
French were driven to the northwest upon 
Sedan, where the conflict became general on 
the 31st of August, and continued into the 
1st of September. On the last day of Au- 
gust, it would seem that the Prussians 
suffered severely, but when the final struggle 
came on Thursday, the 1st of September, 
they mustered 240,000 men, while MacMahon 
had at the outside not more than 120,000. 
Although severely wounded, he still retained 
the chief command, the German forces being 
under the immediate direction of General 
von Moltke, with the Crown Prince Freder- 
ick William of Prussia, and the Crown Prince 
Albert of Saxony next in command. The 
corps of the Prussian commander were posted 
to the left, those of the Saxon to the right 
of the French position. The plan of attack 
was to efl'ect a junction between the two, 
and thereby enclose the enemy in a semi- 
circle. This object was fully accomplished 
by noon, and by 3 o'clock the battle had 
been transformed into a rout, with the 
French in full flight. 

THE CAPITULATION OF MACMAHON. 

Darkness put an end to the pursuit, and 
on the ensuing day, September 2, the Prus- 
sians prepared to assault Sedan, by which 
the French retreat was protected. But it 
was not necessary. At noon. General 
Wimpffen, who had succeeded the disabled 
hero of Magenta in command, left Sedan with 
a flag of truce, and at half past 1 o'clock the 
fortress and the remnants of MacMahon's 
army were formally and unconditionally 
surrendered. When MacMahon went into 
the engagement on the morning of Septem- 
tember 1st, he had under his command, as 
already stated, about 120,000 men. The 
number who were placed hors de combat 
during the fight it is impossible as yet to 
ascertain, and it is equally impossible to 
estimate with accuracy the number that 
became prisoners of war through the cere- 
mony of capitulation. The Independance 
Beige of Brussels places the number of 
French in Sedan at the time of its capitula- 
tion at 70,660, and states that on the 4th, 
15,000 more surrendered, while 30,000 took 
refuge upon the neutral soil of Belgium. 
But this much is certain, that the victory of 
Sedan, followed, as it was, by the capitula- 
tion of the entire French army, was one of 
the most brilliant on record. After all was 
over, the Crown Prince resumed his triumph- 
ant march on Paris. 

THE SUBBENDEB OF NAPOLEON, 

But it was accompanied by a circumstance 
which imparted to it additional lustre and 
importance. The Emperor Napoleon, after 
the vicissitudes narrated by us yesterday. 



72 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



had arrived at Sedan on the 27th of August. 
According to some reports, the Prince Impe- 
rial had preceded him thither, while others 
state that he made his escape into Belgium. 
■General WimpfFen bore with him a letter to 
King William from the Emperor, of which 
two or three versions have been publislied, 
the Paris Gaulois giving the following as its 
•exact text : — 

" Having no command in the army, and 
having placed all my authority in the hands 
of the Empress as regent, I herewith surren- 
der my sword to the King of Prussia." 

While, according to other reports, the 
document ran thus : — 

" As I cannot die at the head of my army, 
I lay my swurd at the feet of your Majesty." 

But he surrendered, and at an interview 
with King William, who had accompanied 
the army of the Crown Prince in its march 
to the north from the neighborhood of Bar- 
le-Duc, held immediately after the capitula- 
tion of MacMahon's army, Wilhelmshof, near 
Cassel, was assigned as the place of his resi- 
dence for the time being. He started with- 
out delay on his journey thither, by way of 
Liege, through Belgium, accompanied by a 
suite of one hundred persons, and an armed 
Prussian escort. The Prince Imperial is on 
the way to join him, if he was not with him 
at the time of his surrender, and the presence 
of the ex-Empress will soon render the fallen 
Imperial family complete. 

Meanwhile Paris, which for nearly nine- 
teen years had been awed into subjection by 
the terror of his bayonets and the inspiration 
of his name, is revelling in shouts of " Vive 
la Republique !" and the only semblance of 
French authority in France is the Provis- 
ional Republic, which Favre, Gambetta, and 
Trochu have set up on the ruins of the 
Bonaparte throne. 

Such is the history of the conflict which 
General Prim precipitated upon Europe by 
proposing Prince Leopold of HohenzoUern- 
Sigmaringen, as a candidate for the throne 
of Spain. The ex-Emperor — we have al- 
ready becomts used to the expressive prefix — 
resented the scheme of Prim ostensibly " as 
a check and a menace to France," in reality 
as a defiance of his well-known hostility to 
what he had been pleased to term the 
aggrandizing spirit of Prussia. He sought 
to throw the entire responsibility for it upon 
the Prussian King ; and, not content with 
its abandonment, demanded a guarantee that 
no Prussian Prince would ever be suffered 
to ascend the throne of Charles V. This 
humiliating demand was rejected, and Napo- 
leon declared that he would enforce it at the 
point of the sword. On the 28th of July, he 
affixed the magical name of Napoleon to a 
proclamation in which he assumed the chief 
command of an army of half a million of sol- 
diers, whom he proposed forthwith to lead 
on a triumphant march upon Berlin. On 
the 2d of September, only five weeks after- 
wards, he laid his sword at the feet of King 



William, and surrendered himself a prisoner 
of war. 

Thus ends the story of the Third Napoleon 
and the Second Empire. Unhappily the 
tribulations which they have bequeathed to 
France are, perchance, but just begun. 

THINGS IN AND AROUND PAEIS. 

TREACHERY IN HIGH PLACES. 

You may like to know what is considered 
in Paris, by those best informed, to be the 
truth in relation to the stories with which 
the air is full concerning the treachery in 
high places that has been practised inj 
France. It was understood, sometime ago, 
that Marshal Leboeuf had completely de- 
ceived the Emperor and the Corps Legis- 
latif in regard to the readiness of the country 
for war. " We are ready," he had said, " and 
by ' ready ' I mean that if the war were to 
last a year we should not have to buy as 
much as a button for a gaiter." This was 
bad enough; but it now appears that the 
wife of the Marshal, who is a Prussian, ob- 
tained from her husband the full particulars 
of the plan of military operations which had 
been decided upon, and then found means to 
communicate this invaluable information to 
Bismarck, and through him to Von Moltke. 
Thus, when the game of war began, the 
Prussians were in the condition of a player 
who knew all the cards in his opponent's 
hand and exactly how he intended to play 
them. That success should follow an ad- 
vantage so great as this, was only what was 
to be expected. This, however, is not all. 
The Gaulois has made public what was whis- 
pered about Paris all last week — namely, 
that a mysterious prisoner was incarcerated 
at Vincennes, whose identity was so care- 
fully concealed that the ordinary wardens of 
the fort were not allowed to see him. Opinion 
is divided as to whether this reproduction of 
the man in the iron mask is Leboeuf, Roche- 
fort, or the author of the false news published 
on the Bourse three weeks ago, and no Joseph 
or Daniel has arisen to interpret the mystery. 
But some arrests have been made of female 
spies, of whose identity there is no doubt. 
'J'he first was no less a personage than 
Madame la Comtesse de Behague — "the 
luxurious syren who boasted of having the 
King of Prussia, the Prince, and the Grand 
Duke of Baden at her feet." 

ANOTHER SPY STORY. 

In a Strasbourg hotel some Algerian tirail- 
leurs, officers, sous officers, and privates were 
at breakfast, the first they had eaten in 
peace for a week. An intruder came in 
with many bows and begged permission to 
place himself at table, offering to pay his 
share. " You don't know me, but I am not 
quite a stranger to the great army family. 
Captain Brunet, Twenty-one of the line, is 
known to some of you, I dare say. He is 
my very dearest friend, almost my brother." 



'® 



m 



o 



2. !^ 



2 

"St- 



H 
CSI 





\) 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



75 



Nobody knew Captain Brunei, bnt his name 
was a passport among soldiers. The stranger 
took his cotelette, and was chatting easily 
with his companions when an officer of the 
Twenty-first came in : " Parbleu ! here is the 
very man to tell you all about your friend. 
Lieutenant, allow us to present a friend of 
one of yours; you know Captain Brunet?" 
" What Brunet ? " " Brunet of the Twenty- 
first." " No such man in our regiment since 
I joined it ten years ago." The stranger is 
confused. His lively tone is changed. Some 
Turcos asked the lieutenant : "Are you sure 
there was no such man as Captain Brunet?" 
"Just as sure as that you are standing 

there." "Why, then, he must be ," and 

they began to close round the stranger. 
"Monsieur is in my company," said the 
captain of tirailleurs, a solid man. " Go on 
with 3'our breakfast, sir ; shall I hand you 
the cheese? Take some of this conserve." 
Cofi'ee and chasse — breakfast was over. The 
big tirailleur called for the bill and paid. 
Taking the stranger's arm, he walked out- 
side on to the sidewalk, drew his revolver, 
and blew out the spy's brains 

THE FATE OF SPIES IN WAS. 

[ From the Jewish Leader. ] 

It is a deplorable fact that a good number 
of spies have up to this moment been em- 
ployed in the war which is now being car- 
ried on between the two great European Pow- 
ers. Those who carry out this treacherous 
system are severely punished when caught, 
for what is a spy else than a secret assassin, 
owing to whose paid treason large masses of 
soldiers often perish, whereas they might 
have preserved their lives in honest, open 
combat ? 

If we read in the Scripture of spies, the 
mission with which they were entrusted is 
not, by any means, comparable or analogous 
with the functions performed by the treach- 
erous individuals of our times, above referred 
to. Yet it has been recorded that these spies 
were disagreeable to Moses, and he only con- 
sented to send out spies in order to tranquil- 
ize the turbulent and refractory people as to 
the condition of the country. Moses cannot 
have cared about the reports which these 
spies would bring him, as his trust in God 
must have rendered them a matter of indif- 
ference to him. 

The aim and object of Joshua in sending 
out the two spies to Jericho was equally to 
reanimate and encourage the dismayed hearts 
of Israel by favorable intelligence (thus we 
understand the comment of Kimchi). Also, 
the missions of the messengers to Ai (Joshua 
7) was only for the purpose of tranquillizing 
the people about the selection of n© more 
than three thousand warriors for the expedi- 
tion against that city. That this expedition 
miscarried proves that it was not the inten- 
tion of Joshua to gather such information as 
could be favorable to him. 

The two messengers whom David sent out 
-to seek Saul (1 Samuel xxvi. 5) were no 



spies of whom David availed himself in or- 
der to do any harm to King Saul. In like 
manner the Meragljm of Absalom (2 Sam- 
uel XV. 10) were nothing bnt messengers to 
the different tribes. Even the messengers of 
the tribe of Dan to the house of Micah were 
not sent out as spies. 

FRENCH MILITARY VANITY. 

The French papers call the attention of 
the military authorities to the excellent sys- 
tem adopted by the enemy in ite reconnois- 
sances,and say that while French commanders 
are nearly always taken by surprise, the Prus- 
sians are perfectly well-informed of the where- 
abouts of their adversaries. This is, in a 
great degree, owing to the vanity of the 
French officers, who think that they can af- 
ford to despise all information and every 
suggestion not coming from one of them- 
selves. Before Woerth, a captain on outpost 
duty was warned by the peasants that a 
body of Uhlans were cutting the telegraph 
wires and destroying the railroad. His only 
answer was : What's that to me — Qti'est ce 
que ca me fait — we are not fighting with the 
telegraph, are we ? 

It is very different on the other side ; there 
no piece of information is disregarded, and a 
detachment at once proceeds to investigate 
the truth of every report. The reconnois- 
sances are made by small bodies of picked 
horsemen under the command of a chief of 
intelligence, who can always find among his 
troopers some one who has been born near 
the frontier, or whose trade previous to the 
war had brought him into relations with the 
country and its inhabitants. With such a 
guide it is impossible to make mistakes, and 
as each scout is furnished- with a colored 
print of the various uniforms in the French 
army, he is able to inform the authorities 
exactly what they wish to know. 

««THE SOLDIER'S PIPE." 

"respectfully dedicated to smokers." 

It would be unjust, considering all the 
abuse levelled at tobacco-smokers, and how 
often they are solemnly told that tobacco 
destroys all their energies, not to admit that 
the success of the Germans in the present 
war is rather a feather in the smoker's cap. 
These misguided men seem to live on to- 
bacco ; The Uhlans, who in little parties of 
three or four trot gaily in advance and take 
possession of fortified towns, invariably carry 
pipes in their mouths. The Mayor of each, 
town is directed to find cigars for everybody 
before anything else is done. The German 
troops, it is stated, think but little of a scar- 
city of provisions — they fight as well with- 
out their dinner as with it — ^but tobacco is 
indispensable to them. On the whole, we 
fear experience shows that a smoking army 
is capable of greater endurance and of mak- 
ing greater efforts than a' nowsinoking array. 
The gun without the pipe would be of little 
avail, nor can we be much surprised at this 



76 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



\yhen We r&flect that the quantity of foul air 
wo are called upon to inhale in this world is 
probably far more injurious to health than 
the tobacco smoke, which, although it acts 
as an antidote to the poison of the atmos- 
phere, eets no thanks for its pains, but only 
reproachful language. 

ENGLAND AND FRANCE. 

M. 1,0ns BLANC OX ENGLISH OPINION. 

"Writing to Le Temps, under date of Au- 
gust 23, M. Louis Blanc remarks : " In the 
critical circumstances in which we are placed 
it is necessary above all things that we 
should have courage to look on boldly into 
our position. To shut our eyes with indif- 
ference would be a crime. To be wanting in 
courage would be an opprobrium, but to 
nourish illusions would be almost an act of 
idiocy. In order to place ourselves in a po- 
sition to meet danger, the first condition is 
to comprehend its extent. It would, indeed, 
be a strange transformation of the French 
nation if it had lost its heroic habit of adapt- 
ing its energies to its perils. Those who 
might be disposed to veil the dangers in or- 
der to give heart to the nation, calumniate 
and outrage it. When we come to examine 
the picture of our position as it is presented 
by the more or less official journals which 
are published in Paris, in contrast with that 
presented by the English press, a fear is 
aroused lest France should be ignorant of 
how seriously she is menaced, and how im- 
portant it is for her safety that she should 
again become her old self. The English do 
not know — and yet history exists to teach 
them — of \xhat the great arm of France is 
capable, when they regard her condition as 
desperate. In the first place, nothing that 
bears an official French character obtains the 
slightest credence. Every telegram signed 
by the King of Prussia is accepted in Eng- 
land as an article of faith. Every telegram 
announcing that our army has gained a suc- 
cess is literally regarded as naught. When 
the conflicting doubts of the murderous bat- 
tle of the 16th were received here, we read 
upon the placards of the newspapers : ' Great 
victory of the Prussians. The French claim 
a victory.' In other words, the Prussians 
had conquered because they said so. As to 
the French, the probability was, that they 
were lying. For a Frenchman living in 
England is not this heart-breaking ? There 
is no one here that does not suppose that for 
Napoleon it is a question of life or death to 
conceal reverses which are the consequences 
of his imprudence, his incapacity, and his 
blind and foolish precipitation. There is no 
one who does not say : ' Every defeat sus- 
tained by those soldiers of France, whose al- 
most superhuman intrepidity seemed to do 
"violence to victory, is a formidable accusa- 
tion directed against the Empire.' 

" \i is necessary, therefore, that the black 
sido of things should be concealed at any 
cost. The safety of the Empire depends 



upon it, and the Emperor knows it. There 
lies in part the secret of the incredulity un- 
fortunately only too intelligible against 
which are powerless the most formal asser- 
tions of the authorized depositaries of power 
in France. They would be believed if it 
could be imagined that they had no other 
anxiety than to save the country. They are 
not believed, because the anxiety to save the 
country is thought to be complicated with a 
desire to preserve the dynasty." 

HIS VIEW. 

Bismarck said, " We wish to retain the 
sympathy of the United States, and yet we 
find it gradually receding from us, now that 
France has been declared a Republic. It is 
biit natural that a Republic so great as the 
United States of America should sympathize 
with a younger one, but do not the people 
of those United States make a mistake in 
their impetuosity to be on ' the right side ?' 
We would wish to treat for peace, and with 
a proper representative for France would we 
do so, but we can never recognize a ' gutter 
Republic,' made up from the mob, and led 
by men whose ambitious aim is distinction 
and lucrative positions." 

SONG OF THE GEBIffiAN SOLDIEBS IN ALSACE. 

Air. — " ICH HATTE EINEN CaMBKAD." 

In Alsace, over the Rhine, 
There lives a Brother of mine ; 

It grieves my soul to say 

He hath forgot the day 
We were one land and line. 

Dear Brother, torn apart. 

Is 't true that changed tliou art? 
The French have clapped on thee 
Red breeches, as we see; , 

Have they Frenchified thy heart? J 

i 

Haik! that's the Prussian drum, 

And it tells the time has come. ' 

We have made one " Germany," 
One " Deutschland," firm and free 

And our civil strifes are dumb. \ 

Thee also, fighting sore, \ 

Ankle-deep in German gore, 

We have won. Ah, Brother dear ! 

Thou art Ge-man — dost thou hear ? - 

They shall never part us more. 

Who made this song of mine? ; 

Two comrades by the Rhine; — . ,i 

A Suabian man began it, ; ' 

And a Pomeranian sang it, 
In Alsace on the Rhine. 



THE TERKIBLE UHLANS. 

Capt. Jeannerod, the correspondent of Le 
Temps, writing from M§ziferes-Charleville, 
after the ' battles at Metz, of the conduct of 
the German troops, says that the reports of 
the Prussian doings are necessarily much 
exaggerated, but that isolated acts of violence 
have occurred, to which the alarm felt is in 
some degree traceable. Here is an incident 
which he relates illustrative of these ex- 
aggerations : 

"A Prussian soldier was lying on the 
ground in a field ; a doctor, near at hand, 
bandaged his wounds, and, having finished 



THE FRANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



-iT 



was about to mount his horse, -when a Uh- 
lan came up and shot him through the nead 
wRh a pistol. Enormous as this seems it 
must be true, for everywhere I have heard 
the same story. One of ray informants was 
an old dragoon of the Guard, one of the rare 
survivors of his regiment, which was anni- 
hilated in the battle of the 16th. ' We have 
been crushed,' he said, 'but each one of us 
had struck down three : and now, since they 
have fired upon the doctors, no more quar- 
ter ! I met one this morning, lost in a wood. 
He had thrown away his gun, crying, ' Friend, 
friend!' 'No friend,' I replied, and ran my 
sword through his body.' Some Chasseurs 
d'Afrique have also declared in my presence 
' No more quarter.' * * * Evidently the war 
between the two armies is assuming a charac- 
ter of fury and of extermination. * * * The 
Uhlan will deserve, after this war, to hold the 
same rank in the Prussian army as the Zou- 
ave does with us. ' The Uhlans are every- 
where,' said a young peasant to me. Mounted 
upon excellent horses, four or five of them 
arrive in a village, and the whole canton 
knows that evening that the Prussians have 
arrived, though the corps d'armee may be 15 
kilometres off. But that is unknown ; and 
hence the dread of firing upon these four or 
five Uhlans, lest, for a single enemy thus dis- 
patched, a whole commune might be put to 
fire and sword. So much for the terror pro- 
duced by Prussian arms ; but they also know 
how to caress the people. In the environs 
of Metz, nothing is spoken of but the Prus- 
sian organization, and the facility with which 
it adapts itself, for the moment, to the local 
customs of the country that is invaded. They 
have even gone so far as to promise to the 
employes of the Sarreguemines Railroad to 
maintain thcin on their present footing, 
though this is very superior to the condition 
of similar employes in Rhenish Prussia. In 
the towns, small and large, wherever their 
conduct will be talked of, the same dexterous 
handling is shoM'n. Half from policy, half 
from natural inclination, the conduct of the 
enemy in certain localities has left nothing 
to be complained of. As against the villages 
burnt on the hills of Gravelotte, other cases 
are cited where the inhabitants were quickly 
reassured. A young peasant girl said before 
me that it was very wrong to be frightened ; 
that the enemy had been very gentle and con- 
siderate, had taken nothing, but contented 
, themselves with asking for what they wanted, 
and paying what was asked. And the peas- 
ant girl added one thing which was very sad, 
but which ought to be made known : ' Our 
own soldiers did a great deal more mischief.' " 

THE PRINCESS ALICE AT HOME. 

THE HOSPITAL AT DARMSTADT. 

A correspondent of The Pall Mall Gazette, 
who visited the hospital for the wounded at 
Darmstadt, which is under the special charge 
of the Princess Alice, writes : " Certainly, 
nothing can be more admirably managed ; 



and of those I have seen as yet it is the 
brightest, airiest, and most cheerful. The 
principal building is a permanent one of 
stone and glass — an ex-conservatory. It 
stands in channing gardens, with their 
flower-beds, and shrubberies, and fountains, 
which, as the Princess says, the Frenchmen 
gallantly tell her remind them of the water- 
works of Versailles i Through these are 
scattered a number of succursales — wooden 
pavilions where the double rows of beds 
stand at ample intervals, with canvas doors 
at the ends, to be looped up at will, and with 
openings in the roof, protected from the wet, 
but open to the wind. The Princess says 
the French strongly protest against the fresh 
air, while the Germans, on the contrary, very 
sensibly welcome it as the best of specifics. 
She ought to be mistress of the inward senti- 
ments of the patients, for they all seem to 
take her into their inmost confidence. It 
was worth a journey from England alone to 
see the faces of the sufferers lighten up as 
they reflected the sisterly smiles on her. As 
she passed along and stopped and spoke to 
each, the invalid laid himself back on his pil- 
low with an expression of absolute bien Strej 
and for the moment seemed to find something 
more than an anodyne for his pain. Her 
passing along the wards applied the most in- 
fallible of tests to the cases. If her presence 
did not smooth the pain-wrinkles out of a 
man's face, or bring something like tran- 
quillity to his drawn mouth, and cause a 
flash of light to his eye, you were quite sure 
to hear he was in an extremely bad way. 
Nor was it with the wounded alone she 
seemed the animating spirit of the place. 
Nurses and doctors and convalescents walk- 
ing about all addressed her with the same 
cordial familiarity — only tempered by their 
evident reverence and love. The truth is, 
and one sees it everywhere else as in Darm- 
stadt, this war has not merely made Germany 
a nation, but a fcmily, and a thorough family 
feeling pervades North and South, high and 
low alike. Nothing seems regarded as a sac- 
rifice, and the humblest work that can serve 
the great national cause is regarded as a 
pleasure and honor. The theatre at May- 
ence is given over to preparations for the 
hospital service, and the ladies of the place, 
old and young, go to work day and night in 
batches and in gangs, in the coarsest ma- 
terials and roughest work. Here at Darm- 
stadt no small portion of the Palace is 
devoted to the same purpose, and the work- 
rooms communicate directly with the Prin- 
cess' apartments. There are piles of mat- 
tresses in the galleries, hills of blankets and 
cushions below, chests of lint, bundles of 
bandages, mountains of cushions, sandbags 
for absorbing blood, wooden receptacles for 
shattered limbs. There is a continual influx 
and constant outflow of all that. This after- 
noon the Princess' phaeton had the back 
seat piled high with cushions wanted for im- 
mediate use — decently covered up, it is true, 
with a carriage rug; but there were so many 



7S 



THE FEANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



of them that the rug was sheer hypocrisy 
and absurd illusion. A huge bundle of flan- 
nel seriously embarrassed the coachman's 
legs and style, while it says much for the 
paving of the Darmstadt streets that all the 
teapots stowed away in the sword case be- 
neath the ladies' seat reached their destina- 
tion in safety." 

LIFE IN CAMP. 

BEFORE MBTZ — HOW THE SOLDIERS LIVE — PRKPARING 
A MEAIi. 

A correspondent of The London DaUy 
Telegraph writes from the camp before 
Metz : The principal occupation, or rather 
the serious business of the day, in camp, is 
the preparation for a meal of some sort. 
I*irectly you wake, human nature at once 
requires some sustenance ; you crave for a 
good hot cup of tea, especially if, as last 
night, you find yourself exposed to what 
Virgil calls a placidus tmber. The fact was 
that the wall at the back of my shelter gave 
way, and I found myself lying with my head 
outside, the gentle rain falling plentifully on 
my head and face. The dry sticks which 
you have taken to bed with you to keep dry 
are produced as soon as day breaks, and a 
hot tin of coffee, without sugar or milk, helps 
to pull you together. The business of the 
day then commences. A rush is made for 
the nearest " Marketender " wagon that has 
come up from Gorze. In the following of 
almost every regiment there is attached to 
each company an individual called a "Market- 
ender." Half soldier, half publican, and 
wholly thief, he is a curious mixture of cun- 
ning, courage, and dishonesty — terms. I am 
aware, that are strangely discordant, but] 
which are all represented in the character 
of the Marketender. 

His duty is, with his wagon, covered with 
canvas and drawn by two wwetched-looking 
horses, to rob, plunder, or buy provisions at 
any of the villages he passes through, and to 
sell the produce to the soldiers of the par- 
ticular company to which he is attached, 
the number of which is painted on his wagon 
and carried on his cap. Very often the Mar- 
ketender has his better-half to help him — a 
virago, who out-brazens the sins of her hus- 
band, bullies the soldiers, and cringes to the 
officers. Mrs. Marketenderin is by no means 
an engaging-looking person. The one I have 
to do with wears a costume sufficiently 
ludicrous. A French soldier's cap covers 
her grizzled, hair, the peak shading a face 
which, from exposure to the sun, look* like 
a piece of badly tanned leather; a Volti- 
geur's jacket envelops her body, and a large 
red bandanna is wound round her waist, 
where she carries a huge knife, with which 
to cut the hard, black bread into the pieces 
she dispenses to the soldiers ; her arms and 
hands are brown-black, partly from ex- 
posure and partly from dirt, while, to com- 
plete her semi-military costume, the short- 
ness of her petticoat reveals her feet incased 



in a pair of long boots that have once been 
the property of some Prussian soldier, whose 
bones, in all probability, are now lying upon 
the plateau of Gorze. They both dispense 
their commodities in eager haste, and are 
not particular as to the change they give for 
a thaler. The appearance of the vivandi^res 
since the invasion of French territory has 
wonderfully improved, no doubt at the ex- 
pense of la belle France, and the money 
they are making will, without doubt, enable 
them to eat their " Kartoffelsalat " and drink 
their "Zeltinger" for the rest of their days 
in peace and quietness on the banks of the 
Moselle, or wherever else they may please to 
settle down. If you are in favor, madame 
produces a piece of meat from the recesses 
of the wagon, and perhaps an onion, a piece 
of bread, and a glass of schnapps, for which 
you pay the moderate sum of one thaler. 
With these valuables you rush off to your 
shelter, wherever it may be, and, if the rain 
has not put your fire out, you improvise a 
meal, which, if not very recherche, at least 
fills your stomach. I was asked by the 
General to-day why I did not go and live in 
Gorze, like the other Englishmen ? My an- 
swer was, simply, that I depended for infor- 
mation upon my own eyes, and not upon 
the retailed news of others. This seemed 
to amuse him vastly, and he patted me on 
the back, and answered, " Thank God ! there 
are, then, some who will tell the truth as 
they see it, and not invent a parcel of lies." 
This was not very flattering to my brother 
correspondents. The band is really the lux- 
ury of the day. It plays in the afternoon, 
and the delicious airs of Beethoven, Mozart, 
and Meyerbeer transport one in imagination 
far from the surrounding scenes. 

STBASBOUBG AND FABIS. 

A GERMAN MILITARY WRITER ON THEIR POWERS OK 
RESISTANCE. 

The following extract from a letter of the 
well-known military writer, Julius Von Wic- 
kede, has a special interest in connection 
with the news from Strasbourg and Paris : 

We are now besieging and bombarding 
Strasbourg and Metz, beyond all doubt the 
two strongest fortresses of France. These 
immense strongholds have menaced the 
peace and security of Germany, particularly 
the former, and it is, therefore, deemed of 
the highest importance that»they should be 
captured and remain in our permanent pos- 
session. A fair number of heavy siege-guns 
have already arrived before Strasbourg. The 
Prussian 24-pounders are excellent and very 
effective ; they have a wide range, and as 
soon as the distance has been correctly as- 
certained (which is generally the case after 
two or three trial shots), their fire is as ac- 
curate and telling as can be reasonably de- 
sired. In regard to Strasbourg, it would not 
be wise to calculate upon an immediate 
capitulation. General Uhlrich, the com- 
mander of the fortress, was formerly in the 



THE FEANCO-GERMAN WAR. 



79 



Imperial Guard, and is an officer of the 
highest military ability, one who will do his 
duty to the last, and without any particular 
regard for the inhabitants of the city he is 
called upon to defend. I became personally 
acquainted with him at Varna, during the 
Crimean war, when we passed our leisure 
time in conversing about military matters, 
drinking a glass of light Brussa wine, and 
playing a game of dominoes. I remember 
well enough that we repeatedly touched on 
the possibility of our confronting each other 
as enemies. The brave general did not then 
imagine that the strongest army which the 
Second Empire could bring into the field 
would be repeatedly beaten by us within a 
fortnight, and that we could so soon com- 
mence the siege of the two most iniportant 
French fortresses. The idea that the Ger- 
mans would carry the war into French terri- 
tory seemed too preposterous to the French, 
who thought it an easy task to drive the 
Prussians beyond the Rhine, and never ex- 
pected to meet any serious resistance until 
they would reach Mayence and Ooblentz. 
All their preparations show that this was 
their preconceived plan. 

But to return to the siege of Strasbourg. 
Although the commander is a man of un- 
doubted talent, energy, and bravery, and 
although the garrison is composed of select 
troops, who will fight and defend the city to 
the last, I do not believe this fortress will 
prove another Sebastopol. The numerous 
population of the city, amounting to more 
than 80,000 inhabitants, will be a serious 
check to the powers of resistance and en- 
durance of the garrison, and will necessitate 
a speedier capitulation than could otherwise 
be anticipated- It is more than probable 
that our repeatedly expressed opinion that 
large and populous cities are not fit places 
for fortresses will obtain additional confirma- 
tion ere long. The principal objectiouj 



against them is the difficulty, or rather im- 
possibility, of provisioning them for a long 
siege. Of what use are the strongest walls 
and a great number of guns, when once 
famine, with its appalling consequences, 
spreads among a population of 80,000 souls ? 
ard how can the most energetic commander 
prevent it, and protect his army against its 
demoralizing influence ? It is utterly impos- 
sible. 

We have read many reports about the 
immense fortifications around Paris, and 
had an occasion to examine these strong- 
holds a few years ago, and we readily con- 
fess that they are formidable, and were so 
previous to the numerous additions and im- 

grovements which have recently been made, 
lut what of that ? If what we have said 
above holds good with a city of 80,000 peo- 
ple, how much more so in regard to a capital 
of nearly 2,000,000 inhabitants, and com- 
posed of such dangerous and heterogeneous 
elements as the population of Paris ? Some 
of the Paris newspapers contain an account 
of the quantities of provisions which are 
said to be stored in that city, and pretend 
that the place is fully prepared for a siege of 
four months. We feel inclined to think that 
the figures on paper will not correspond 
with the amount of stores actually on hand, 
and we should not be at all surprised to find 
these statements equal in exaggeration and 
want of truth to the reports circulated about 
the strength of the French army, its arma- 
ment, equipment, and fitness for field ser- 
vice. We think that by the time the three 
immense columns of the German army shall 
appear before Paris, all the braggadocio 
about the defence of that city to the last will 
have been silenced by sounder counsel and 
cooler judgment. It would be the climax 
of madness to attempt a defence of Paris 
under the existing circumstances. 



THE END. 



^o«$c« 




Men Wanted. 




We are prepared, at all times, to place men 
upon good territory, where they can sell large 
quantities of our cheap publications, and have the 
exclusive right to said territory. 

Those wishing to engage in a lucrative business 
should send immediately for our Catalogue of Latest 
Publications. 

Being of a sensational order they find ready 
sale and we want ^ 

AGENTS EVERYWHERE, 

and assure them that they can make money. j 

BARCLAY & CO, 

610 Arch Street, Fhiladelphinu 



Jk 



>^,fj^.M X;m^-j 




*Oi^; _:«c:<?. <-'"-. 4i£3li;' 



•c: <sc icr -rr <t; <-- ^ "ia^^ 






























.^'^^^<^.^^^-' 






\ .<L._«€Lsr" «.^^-5> 5<^^<^: > . -^ 



rex <ir<< 

rc*'<r<ac'' '<' ^-c<l•<:c' 



^:«3: 



<::;<<- 



S3 



- <- c.fo. r<: -^ , 

^ c-c 0-' <r<:, > v- ^., 



C^ii6^^*^-~$ O^^ 



" %^^^ .: ^Kx<:<fc cor: o « c c?^<- ■ " ' 















^<^< rr<r c<^-- «^'- c <rc'^^ <:"<.' <;<^ 


















: cc -o 


















cc < <> 

"^ c<:'c «■ ■ 






' 3CJ< ■ ■ 












':<£'?<'<Cj^ 


















^^'^^^^'^m^ 






r\r'<r<l «C?CC -^K^CE. 






'<<^^h<: 






"^<iisr 


















^-^.:^:^^^ 



ife;' <Jir <3«c:;; :«^ 



^ <r <r <; 






Zc^c5c: 

Iter? «; 















rjcc <c •eCT-^^cS 









